Former Spalding football coach sentenced to 30 years for Maryland murder

Best was a traveling nurse and a friend of Kearney’s, according to her family. As a member of a U.S. Navy family, Best grew up in various places and swam for Camden County High School before winning all-conference honors swimming at Georgia Southern University.

“She is a loss to her family, her community and the world,” Braveboy said when announcing the plea. “We lost someone who was committed to healing others.”

Braveboy previously said no sentence would be justice in the case.

“This plea does bring closure to the family,” she said.

The night before she was killed, Best and Kearney had gone to dinner and had a fun evening, according to investigators. But the two later got into an argument, Kearney told authorities.

On the morning of Feb. 17, 2024, authorities said, Kearney walked into the Prince George’s County police station to report he had assaulted Best. Officers found her unresponsive in her Accokeek home and she died at the scene.

“During an interview with homicide unit detectives, Kearney confessed to strangling the victim during an argument,” police said in a news release after the woman’s death.

Credit: File

Credit: File

When she lost consciousness, Kearney said he smacked her face to “bring her back,” according to court documents. But when Best didn’t respond, Kearney said he left the home in her car and drove to Virginia.

He later returned to Maryland and drove to the police department to report what he had done and was arrested.

Kearney referred to Best as his girlfriend in an interview with police, but her sister denied that in an email to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution after Kearney’s arrest. Best was not in a relationship when she died, her sister said. Kearney was someone Best had trusted to help her move from Georgia to Maryland before her next work assignment, her family said.

Kearney’s arrest shocked the Spalding community, where he was a successful coach and had served as a mentor to athletes.

A graduate of Griffin High, Kearney was a standout wide receiver at Georgia Southern and worked as the receivers coach at Griffin before he was hired by crosstown rival Spalding. He took over a team that went 1-9 the previous season but then advanced to the playoffs in 2021, 2022 and 2023, an unprecedented streak in school history. In 2023, the Jaguars posted a 12-1 record and won the region title, the team’s first in 20 years.

In March 2024, Kearney was indicted in the case. He pleaded guilty to second-degree murder because investigators did not have evidence Kearney planned the murder ahead of time, attorney Jessica Garth said.

Prosecutors said Best’s close-knit family had played a vital role in the case. Best had followed in relatives’ footsteps when she chose the medical profession.

“We know that healing will take a lifetime,” Braveboy said in March. “To the Best family, just know we are here for you, whatever you need.”