Erie County District Attorney Michael J. Keane announces that a jury found Elijha Q. Rogers, 28, of Buffalo, guilty of one count of Murder in the Second Degree (Class A-I felony). Jurors rendered their decision yesterday afternoon after approximately an hour of deliberations following a four-day trial, convicting the defendant of the highest count in the indictment.
On Friday, May 23, 2025, at approximately 12:29 p.m., police and paramedics responded to a residence on the 300 block of Tonawanda Street in the City of Buffalo after receiving a 911 call for a report of an unresponsive infant. The victim, 3-month-old Kanai James Cureton, was pronounced dead at the scene. The Erie County Medical Examiner’s Office ruled the manner of death as homicide caused by blunt force head trauma.
During the early morning hours of May 23, 2025, the defendant, under circumstances evincing a depraved indifference to human life, recklessly engaged in conduct that resulted in the death of his infant son. After causing the baby to suffer head trauma, a spinal injury and a fractured rib, the defendant continued to observe the unresponsive infant for approximately eight hours without seeking any help or medical assistance.
Rogers faces a maximum of 25 years to life in prison when he is sentenced before Erie County Court Judge James Bargnesi on Monday, December 14, 2026, at 9:30 a.m. He remains held without bail.
DA Keane commends Detective Sergeant Keith Fitzner, Detective Rita Ruffin and Officer Alexandria Yeates of the Buffalo Police Department for their work in this investigation.
The case was prosecuted by Chief Ashley M. Morgan and Assistant District Attorney Frank A. Strano of the Homicide Bureau.