Minneapolis man sentenced to nearly 30 years for murder of Deshaun Hill

A Minneapolis man who pleaded guilty to murdering a high school student in 2022 was sentenced to nearly 30 years in prison on Monday.

It was the second time Cody Fohrenkam was sentenced for fatally shooting 15-year-old Deshaun Hill. He was convicted and sentenced to more than 38 years in prison in February 2023, but the Minnesota Court of Appeals later reversed the conviction and granted him a retrial based on illegally obtained incriminating statements.

Fohrenkam, 33, agreed to a plea deal as his second trial was set to start, pleading guilty to one count of second-degree intentional murder in exchange for Monday's 340-month sentence. The judge presiding over the hearing gave him credit for 1,476 days already served.

The Hennepin County Attorney's Office said in a statement on Monday, "The HCAO faced significant challenges that did not exist during the first trial due to evidentiary rulings from both the Court of Appeals and the trial court."

Fohrenkam shot and killed Hill while Hill was walking to a bus stop just blocks from Minneapolis North High School, where Hill was a star quarterback and honor roll student.  

"I just want to let you know you failed my family," Tuesday Sheppard, Hill's mother, said while in court. "Y'all let this murderer who killed my only son, 15 years old, he's only going to do 28 years?"

One of Hill's aunts said in a statement shortly before the judge sentenced Fohrenkam that her nephew was "full of life."

"When he spoke, you listened. He had a soft spirit and a good heart," she said. "Deshaun was an artist who, as you all know, he took his education seriously. He had dreams and goals. He worked hard to make his family proud."