Latest news with #UW-Whitewater
Yahoo
25-02-2025
- Yahoo
2 people arrested in fatal shooting of Milwaukee 4-year-old
Two people were behind bars Monday, and face felony charges in the shooting death last week of 4-year-old JaiNadia Little. Anthony Brookshire, 41, and Derreanna Little, 25, were arrested over the weekend and charged with neglecting a child with the consequence of death, as a party to a crime. Brookshire also faces two counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm. Brookshire and Little made initial court appearances on Saturday. Bonds for their release were set at $100,000 and $5,000, respectively. They remained in custody Monday, online jail records show. Brookshire and Little are expected to be back in court March 4 for a preliminary hearing. Little, who prosecutors believe is JaiNadia's aunt, also has a bail hearing set for Wednesday. More: A 15-year-old Milwaukee boy is identified as victim found in burning car last week A criminal complaint paints a grim picture of what unfolded inside the northwest Milwaukee home where the drama unfolded on Feb. 17. A 911 dispatcher got a call just after 9:45 p.m. The dispatcher asked what the emergency was, but got no answer. Moments later, the woman could be heard screaming, then the call dropped, the complaint says. A second call was placed to 911 from the same number and the woman is again heard. "Stay with me, stay with me," a female's voice is heard saying. "It's OK, you hear me, stay woke.' Moments later, the woman yells, "Anthony, go get my baby." The woman didn't speak directly with the dispatcher in either call. Milwaukee police went to the home in the area of North 39th Street and Sheridan Avenue. While there, the woman, identified later as Little, told the officers her 4-year-old niece had been shot, according to the complaint. JaiNadia was not in the home when police got there; she had been driven to St. Joseph's Hospital, where she later died from a gunshot wound to the chest. A Milwaukee County Medical Examiner's report indicated JaiNadia was shot in a bedroom. Inside the home, police discovered "a deflated air mattress with blood spatter near a hole in the upper center portion of the mattress," the complaint says. A single spent 7.62x39 casing also was located on the mattress, according to the document. Little and Brookshire "made differing statements" to investigators, the complaint says. More: Trial date set for man charged with killing UW-Whitewater gymnast Kara Welsh Initially, Little refused to disclose the location of the shooting. Little claimed she found her 1-year-old daughter holding a gun when she went to check on the two children, the criminal complaint says. Brookshire claimed he was at a gas station when the shooting occurred, and that Little was screaming about what happened as he returned to the home. He told investigators he was unaware of any guns in the house, and said he didn't know how the child could have accessed one. Brookshire has been convicted in the past of six felonies, and was on active community supervision with the Wisconsin Department of Corrections at the time of the shooting, court records show. More: Chicago car thief convicted of killing man in Milwaukee Taco Bell parking lot gets 30 years in prison Five of his convictions involve firearm offenses, which prohibit him from possessing one. Brookshire admitted to investigators he attempted to "clean the scene" by placing the weapon in a bag, the complaint said. Brookshire faces nearly 60 years in prison if he is convicted. Little faces up to 25 years. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: 2 people arrested in fatal shooting of Milwaukee 4-year-old
Yahoo
19-02-2025
- Yahoo
Trial date set for man charged with killing UW-Whitewater gymnast Kara Welsh
ELKHORN – A former University of Wisconsin-Whitewater wrestler will stand trial on Dec. 12 on charges he killed his champion gymnast girlfriend last year, a Walworth County judge ruled. The trial date for Chad T. Richards was set Tuesday during a motion hearing he attended by a video link from the Walworth County Jail. His attorney Gibson D. Hatch, of Middleton, filed a motion on Monday, requesting that his legal team be given access to the view the crime scene – unit no. 203 of the Whitewater Street apartment complex, where police say Richards shot Kara Welsh to death. Prosecutors were previously allowed inside the apartment on the day a search warrant was executed there. In recent weeks, DLK Enterprises, the Whitewater-based rental company that manages the complex, barred the defense from entering the unit without a court order. More: What we know and don't know about the fatal shooting of champion gymnast Kara Welsh Hatch said touring the apartment would be crucial to helping him and his team form a defense for his client. Walworth County District Attorney Zeke S. Wiedenfeld didn't oppose the defense request. He said he spoke with the manager before Tuesday's hearing and was told the unit hadn't been renovated since the warrant was executed. At that time, law enforcement removed a door, some drywall, portions of flooring and other items that could be used as evidence, Wiedenfeld said. Walworth County Circuit Court Judge Estee Scholtz said she would allow Richards' lawyers to go through the apartment, but with limits – for a specific amount of time and for a single day. "I don't want it to be a continued invasion of the space," she said. Members of Welsh's family were in the courtroom gallery and spoke up as discussion during the hearing shifted to discovery. More: Suspect makes court appearance in shooting death of UW-Whitewater gymnast Kara Welsh Hatch said his office had received discovery in the case, but needed time to go over it. He requested the next status hearing be held within 45 days, which Welsh's family objected to. They requested the hearing be held within 30 days, arguing discovery already had been furnished for Richard's legal team in November and has had ample to examine it. Richards, 23, is scheduled return to court March 20 for a status conference. A final pre-trial hearing also was scheduled for Dec. 3. Police arrested Richards in August in connection with the killing of Welsh, a 21-year-old University of Wisconsin-Whitewater student and national gymnastics champion. Welsh was 21 and entering her senior year at the university, when she was found dead Aug. 30 at an off-campus apartment building, police said. Richards, a member of the university's 2020-21 and 2021-22 wrestling teams, is charged with first-degree intentional homicide in her death. A report by the Walworth County Medical Examiner's Office determined Welsh had eight gunshot wounds. Detectives have promoted the theory, based on the evidence, the shooter stood over Welsh and fired as she was curled on the floor in a fetal position. Richards has pleaded not guilty. He has been unable to post the $1 million bond needed for his pre-trial release, and remained in custody Tuesday at the Walworth County Jail. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Man charged with killing UW-Whitewater gymnast Kara Welsh has trial date set
