Case Breakdown: The Murder of Tiesha Sargeant

Quick Context

On Sunday, May 14, 2006, at about 1:30 a.m., a man named Keve Huggins called police to the second-floor apartment he shared with his girlfriend, Tiesha Sargeant, on Bedford Avenue in Brooklyn. He told officers that intruders had broken in, tied the couple together and covered Tiesha's head with a sheet. Tiesha, 26, had been shot once in the head. She was dead. Huggins was unhurt. _(Sources: New York Magazine, July 2006; New York Daily News, May 15, 2006)_

More than twenty years later, no one has been charged with her murder. Huggins was questioned and arrested on possession charges, and he has never been charged in her death. _(Sources: New York Magazine; New York Post, Oct. 19, 2013)_

This article is the companion to Season 3, Episode 1 of _The Last Known Moment_.

🎧 Listen to the full episode on our podcast page

A note on sources and dates: Almost everything public about this case comes from news reporting between 2006 and 2013, plus later case summaries. We found no court records, because no one has been charged. Where sources differ, we say so. For example, the Daily News places the apartment in Crown Heights, while New York Magazine places it in Prospect Lefferts Gardens. The two neighborhoods border each other, and both the Post and the magazine place Tiesha's childhood home in Crown Heights. New York Magazine often gives months but not always years for the couple's early relationship, so we have dated those events from the article's context. Everything below is current as of October 13, 2026.

Who She Was

Tiesha Sargeant was born in 1980. Her parents, Henry and Imelda Sargeant, came from Guyana. Henry worked as a customs supervisor and union leader there, and Imelda was a mining-company clerk. The family settled in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, in 1982. Tiesha was one of five children. _(Sources: New York Magazine; New York Post)_

She was reading newspaper editorials at age four, according to New York Magazine. At about age ten she was tapped by Prep for Prep, a scholarship program that places talented students from lower-income families into elite private schools. She went on to Brearley, the demanding all-girls school on Manhattan's Upper East Side, where she was one of four Black girls in a class of 40. _(Source: New York Magazine)_

By every account, she stood out. At Brearley she was co-head of the student government, the junior prom princess, a second soprano in the chorus, a field hockey player and a tutor to younger students. Friends and classmates described the pressure of being "the girl from Prep," and the feeling of belonging fully to neither her school world nor her neighborhood. _(Source: New York Magazine)_

At Wesleyan University, she dug into questions of race and identity. Her academic work centered on a social archetype she created and called the Loud-talking Black Woman, or LBW. One of her professors, Krishna Winston, described the LBW as "the woman who was not afraid to assert herself, who would risk being put down for not keeping her place." She was a resident advisor in Wesleyan's Malcolm X House, founded a dance troupe for women of color, emceed the school's annual people-of-color festival, and co-founded a wellness day for women of color. _(Source: New York Magazine)_

After college she chose a corporate path. In 2004 she joined Credit Suisse First Boston as a minority recruiter, visiting campuses like Morehouse and Harvard to find students for the firm's internship program. By August 2005 she had left Wall Street. She took a freelance production manager job at Condé Nast, which gave her time to write. She told friends she wanted to be a poet or novelist. She also wrote for BlackPlanet, including a "Working While Black" survival guide for corporate America. _(Source: New York Magazine)_

Friends and mentors described someone who was both ambitious and deeply principled. Ivan Thornton, a former CSFB executive who mentored her, remembered that on her first day she stopped to hug a Guyanese woman who worked in the cafeteria. A friend recalled that she hated people being judgmental. _(Source: New York Magazine)_

Tiesha and Keve

Tiesha met Keve Huggins through a mutual friend outside a Manhattan nightclub in December 2004. They reconnected the following May and began dating. Huggins was two years older and from the same Brooklyn neighborhood. He worked in nightlife promotion, designing party flyers, websites and T-shirts. _(Source: New York Magazine)_

Some of Tiesha's friends and mentors were uneasy about the relationship. Others saw it as a point of pride for her to date someone who "didn't look good on paper." Tiesha addressed the doubts directly. A friend who looked over websites Huggins designed for parties asked her how comfortable she was. She answered: "Yeah, I know. I've thought about it, and this is the man I love. As long as he's not disrespectful to me or the relationship, I'm good." _(Source: New York Magazine)_

In March 2006, the couple moved into a second-floor walk-up on Bedford Avenue. A friend said Tiesha was happier than ever. The day before she died, her friend Natalie Swaby called to catch up. "You could hear the smile through the phone," Swaby told New York Magazine. _(Source: New York Magazine)_

Timeline

• ◦1980 — Tiesha Sargeant is born. The family settles in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, in 1982. _(New York Magazine)_
• ◦About age 10 — She is chosen for Prep for Prep and later attends Brearley. _(New York Magazine)_
• ◦Early 2000s — She attends Wesleyan University and develops her "Loud-talking Black Woman" research. _(New York Magazine)_
• ◦2004 — She starts as a minority recruiter at Credit Suisse First Boston. _(New York Magazine)_
• ◦December 2004 — She first meets Keve Huggins outside a Manhattan nightclub. _(New York Magazine)_
• ◦May 2005 — She and Huggins reconnect and begin dating. _(New York Magazine)_
• ◦August 2005 — She leaves Wall Street for a freelance production manager job at Condé Nast. _(New York Magazine)_
• ◦March 2006 — She and Huggins move into the Bedford Avenue apartment. _(New York Magazine)_
• ◦Saturday, May 13, 2006 — Detectives later say Huggins admitted selling about $6,000 of marijuana in the apartment that day. _(New York Magazine)_
• ◦About 1:30 a.m., Sunday, May 14, 2006 — Huggins calls police. Tiesha is found shot. _(New York Magazine; Daily News)_
• ◦May 15, 2006 — The Daily News reports that police are questioning Huggins and that three intruders took about $5,000. _(Daily News)_
• ◦July 2006 — New York Magazine reports detectives are still working on the assumption that the killers were connected to the drug sale, and that Huggins had not taken a police polygraph. _(New York Magazine)_
• ◦September 24, 2006 — The Daily News includes her case in a special report on unsolved New York City killings. _(Daily News)_
• ◦2013 — The New York Post lists her case among the city's most notorious cold cases and reports that Huggins has not been charged. _(New York Post)_
• ◦2017 — According to published case summaries, the NYPD cold case squad reopens the investigation. No details have been released. _(Uncovered; Cold and Missing)_
• ◦2024 — A case summary reports that there are still no suspects or arrests. _(Cold and Missing)_
• ◦October 13, 2026 — We found no reports of an arrest.

What Happened That Night

According to what Huggins told police, three men climbed through a second-floor window. They tied him and Tiesha together, pulled a sheet over her head and demanded money. Tiesha was shot once in the head. The Daily News reported that the shot hit the back of her head. Police sources said the intruders took about $5,000 that had been kept in the apartment. Huggins was not hurt. _(Sources: Daily News, May 15, 2006; New York Magazine; New York Post)_

Officers arrived at about 1:30 a.m. They found marijuana in the apartment, about three ounces according to New York Magazine, and a .380-caliber handgun. Reports differ on the details of that gun. The Daily News said Huggins told police the intruders left it behind. New York Magazine said officers found it in the backyard. Uncovered says police could not establish that it came from the intruders. We found no public statement from police showing whose gun it was. _(Sources: Daily News; New York Magazine; Uncovered)_

The Investigation: What Police Have Said Publicly

The drug connection. Detectives said Huggins admitted selling about $6,000 worth of marijuana in the apartment earlier that Saturday. He was arrested on possession charges and released on bail. Police told New York Magazine they believed the people who broke in knew there was something inside worth taking, and that the killers were connected to the drug sale. _(Source: New York Magazine)_

The boyfriend. Huggins was questioned and has never been charged in Tiesha's death. The New York Post reported in 2013 that he "has never been charged." Some of Tiesha's friends told the press they did not believe he was involved. _(Source: New York Post)_

The lie detector question. Public accounts conflict. New York Magazine reported in July 2006 that Huggins said he passed a polygraph administered by his own lawyer, but had not taken a police polygraph. The New York Post reported in 2013 that Tiesha's father said a lie detector test proved inconclusive. Uncovered says Huggins agreed to a test and then refused. We found no official record that settles this. _(Sources: New York Magazine; New York Post; Uncovered)_

The family's frustration. Henry Sargeant told the New York Post that Huggins was "vague" on the details of the crime. He said he wanted him to be "rational and clear-thinking" and to help answer who did this. Those are one father's statements about the man in the apartment that night. They are not findings, and Huggins has never been charged. _(Source: New York Post, 2013)_

Key Evidence and What We Don't Know

What is on the public record:

• ◦A 911 call at about 1:30 a.m. on May 14, 2006, from the second-floor apartment
• ◦A single gunshot wound to Tiesha's head
• ◦Marijuana and cash in the apartment, and an admitted drug sale earlier that day
• ◦A .380-caliber handgun recovered, with conflicting accounts about where it was found and whose it was
• ◦A reported $5,000 taken from the home

What is not public:

• ◦A suspect in custody or named by police
• ◦Any fingerprint, DNA or forensic results
• ◦Ballistics results linking the gun to the shooting
• ◦Any confirmed identification of the three intruders
• ◦The results of any police polygraph
• ◦Details of the NYPD's 2017 review

One case-summary site, Uncovered, says a composite sketch of the gunman was made in 2006 based on Huggins's description. We could not verify who released it or whether police still use it.

Why the Case Went Quiet

New York Magazine reported that the city's papers covered the story for several days and then lost interest. Uncovered notes that attention faded after details about drugs in the apartment emerged. Tiesha's friends were furious. They contrasted her case with the heavy coverage of Imette St. Guillen, a young woman killed in New York earlier in 2006. In a blog post quoted by the magazine, one friend wrote that Tiesha "died on the wrong island of NYC, and was born black." _(Sources: New York Magazine; Uncovered)_

We can't prove why the coverage ended. But the pattern is the reason _The Last Known Moment_ exists. Victims who don't fit an easy narrative get less attention, and the attention they do get can end the moment unflattering facts appear.

Where the Case Stands Today

As of October 13, 2026, we found no reports of an arrest. According to published case summaries, the NYPD cold case squad reopened Tiesha's case in 2017, but no details have been made public. We could not confirm the reopening with an NYPD statement.

If you have information: Call NYC Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477). You can stay anonymous. Tiesha's family and friends have also run a Facebook group called "Keep Tiesha Sargeant's Story Alive," according to Uncovered.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who was Tiesha Sargeant?

Tiesha Sargeant was a 26-year-old Brooklyn woman, a Prep for Prep scholar who graduated from Brearley and Wesleyan University and worked at Credit Suisse First Boston and Condé Nast.

When and where was she killed?

She was shot in her second-floor apartment on Bedford Avenue in Brooklyn in the early hours of Sunday, May 14, 2006, Mother's Day.

Has anyone been charged with her murder?

No. Her boyfriend, Keve Huggins, was questioned and arrested on possession charges, and he has never been charged in her death.

Is the case still open?

According to published case summaries, the NYPD cold case squad reopened the investigation in 2017. We found no reports of an arrest as of October 13, 2026.

How can I help?

Call NYC Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477). You can stay anonymous.

Sources

• ◦New York Magazine, "Class and Murder: How Did Tiesha Sargeant End Up Dead?" (July 2006): https://nymag.com/news/features/17571/
• ◦New York Daily News, "Cops Question Boyfriend in B'klyn Woman's Grisly Death" (May 15, 2006): https://www.nydailynews.com/2006/05/15/cops-question-boyfriend-in-bklyn-womans-grisly-death/
• ◦New York Daily News, "Killers Still Prowl: Special Report on N.Y.C.'s Unsolved Slays" (Sept. 24, 2006): https://www.nydailynews.com/2006/09/24/killers-still-prowl-special-report-nycs-unsolved-slays/
• ◦New York Post, "NYC's Most Notorious Cold Cases" (Oct. 19, 2013): https://nypost.com/2013/10/19/nycs-most-notorious-cold-cases/
• ◦Uncovered, "Murdered: Tiesha Sargeant": https://uncovered.com/cases/tiesha-sargeant-brooklyn-ny
• ◦Cold and Missing, "Tiesha Sargeant" (Jan. 18, 2024): https://www.coldandmissing.com/cold-and-missing-tiesha-sargeant/

_This article is based on publicly available reporting and official law enforcement statements current as of October 13, 2026. All individuals discussed are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. NaturalQueen77 TV strives for accuracy, but cannot guarantee completeness. If you have corrections or additional information, please contact us._

More From The Last Known Moment

• ◦Case Breakdown: The Victims of Henry Louis Wallace
• ◦Case Breakdown: The Disappearance of Mawa Doumbia
• ◦Case Breakdown: The Death of Brenda Lee Rawls
• ◦All episodes

Subscribe to The Last Known Moment on your podcast app, and join the newsletter for new episodes and companion articles.