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An Indianapolis, Indiana, woman charged in 2022 for shooting the father of her two children in the head after late-night sex at an apartment complex playground was sentenced to serve one year behind bars following a guilty plea to reckless homicide.
As part of the plea agreement in the death of 41-year-old Dashawn Roscoe, two counts for neglect of a dependent were dismissed against Tonika Miller, now 33.
The bizarre story of how the May 27, 2022, incident unfolded was revealed a couple of weeks after Roscoe was fatally shot in the head.
According to Miller’s “full statement” and version of events, as outlined in the probable cause affidavit in the case, the couple of several years put their two young children to bed on the night of May 26, 2022, before the parents left their apartment close to 1 a.m. the next day and, after a short walk away, had sex on a blanket at the Carriage House East Apartments complex playground.
An hour later, the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department (IMPD) found Dashawn Roscoe fatally shot in “front of the leasing office and community room” outside his apartment.
Meanwhile, Roscoe and Miller’s children, then 9 months old and 3 years old, were found unattended at their apartment. There, responding cops “observed what appeared to be human blood on the outer door handle and inside the apartment on a hallway light switch,” the affidavit said.
Under questioning, Miller said she and Roscoe felt comfortable leaving their sleeping children alone at the apartment because the planned playground sex site wasn’t far away and that the encounter wouldn’t take very long.
Miller acknowledged that she and Roscoe had an argument after having sex and that she had brought a gun with her “for protection,” given the late-night hour. The argument was about cheating, the affidavit detailed.
Dashawn Roscoe (as seen in Tonika Miller/Facebook reel from June 19), Tonika Miller (Marion County Sheriff’s Office mug shot), Tonika Miller in a TikTok video dancing with caption “When you just been released from home detention/ probation” (as seen in her Facebook reel).
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“Ms. Miller and Mr. Roscoe drove to the park and had sex as planned. When going to the park, Miller stated that she had brought her handgun for protection since they were out late in the apartment complex. After having sex, she said that she and Mr. Roscoe had an argument about cheating on him, and she eventually left Mr. Roscoe at the park,” the affidavit said.
Miller briefly left after the argument, but she tracked down Roscoe by car and the arguing — involving pushing and a demand to drive — escalated to a fatal shot to the cheek. Miller, for her part, said the shooting was an accident:
She pulled up next to him in her vehicle. Ms. Miller stated that she and Mr. Roscoe began to argue, and Mr. Roscoe was asking/trying to sit in Ms. Miller’s lap. Ms. Miller said Mr. Roscoe was facing the vehicle, with his left hand holding onto her steering wheel and his right arm down to his side. Ms. Miller said as she got out of the car, she grabbed Mr. Roscoe’s right wrist with her right hand because she didn’t want him to strike her. Ms. Miller stated that she also had her handgun with her in her right hand. When asked to clarify this statement, Ms. Miller changed her story and said it was in her left hand.
Ms. Miller continued to say that once she was outside of the vehicle, she was going to attempt to get back into the car on the passenger side so that Mr. Roscoe could drive home. Ms. Miller stated Mr. Roscoe pushed her in the back. She then turned around with the gun in her right hand and struck Mr. Roscoe on his right shoulder. Ms. Miller stated she saw the gun go off, striking Mr. Roscoe in the right cheek with a single round.
Under further questioning, Miller said she “took the safety off the handgun when she took it to the park to have sexual intercourse with Mr. Roscoe,” the affidavit said.
“Detective McWhorter asked Ms. Miller why she took the safety off, and Ms. Miller stated that she could use the handgun faster in an emergency,” investigators said. “When CSU Schellhaass processed the handgun from inside the vehicle, CSU Schellhaass advised Detective McWhorter that the safety was on the handgun.”
Citing surveillance video, authorities said it appeared Roscoe did “shove” Miller before she pushed back and struck him “while holding her gun.”
“Mr. Roscoe immediately drops to the ground. Miller then tries to apply pressure around Mr. Roscoe’s head,” the affidavit continued. “Ms. Miller is then observed on video surveillance getting into her vehicle and driving to the middle of the parking lot near the front of her building, running inside, and then running back to Mr. Roscoe’s body on foot. Ms. Miller stays with Mr. Roscoe’s body until IMPD arrives on the scene.”
Marion County court records reviewed by Law&Crime show that Miller pleaded guilty to reckless homicide on Monday, Dec. 4, resulting in a sentence of six years, with two of those years suspended, one year to be served in state prison, and three years to be serve under community supervision/home detention.
Miller was also sentenced to one year of probation.
