Man, 19, sought in shooting death
18-year-old victim had relationship with suspect
Milwaukee police continued searching Thursday for a 19-year-old man in connection with the fatal shooting of an 18-year-old woman.
The victim, Audrea Williams, was shot to death about 1 p.m. Wednesday inside a home in the 8100 block of W. Villard Ave., according to a police news release.
A witness took Williams’ 2-monthold son away from the scene briefly but he was returned, police said. The baby was placed with Child Protective Services.
Officials say their preliminary investigation indicates the shooting stemmed from a domestic dispute.
Police have not released the name of the suspect, whose mother urged him to turn himself in on TV reports Wednesday.
Williams had a relationship with a 19-year-old man, who last August was charged with false imprisonment and battery, both by use of a dangerous weapon. Williams was listed as the victim in that case, which ultimately was dismissed. According to court records: She told Milwaukee police the man came to her door at midnight, pointed a gun at her and ordered her to get in his car.
She got in the car and he demanded she enter her email password on his smartphone. Williams told police she believed he ultimately wanted access to her social media accounts. When she struggled to enter her password because she was nervous, the man punched her and said: “You wanna die for your password?”
The man continued to drive around, threatening her with the gun and struggling with her as she tried to escape. As the man slowed down, the gun fell from his lap to the floor and Williams told police she was able to grab it and throw it out of the car, which prompted the man to stop the vehicle. When he stopped, she fled on foot.
The case moved forward with a preliminary hearing on Aug. 18, when a Milwaukee police detective testified Williams had visible redness on her face when he took her report that night and photos taken by investigators showed scrapes on her neck and chest.
In late September, Williams wrote a letter to the court to withdraw her complaint against the man and said she was sending the letter of her own free will.
A month later, prosecutors moved to dismiss the case without prejudice, meaning the charges could be refiled at another time if more evidence surfaced.
Prosecutors said the case was dismissed because Williams’ testimony was necessary in moving forward with the case successfully. There were no other witnesses and no corroborating evidence, such as a firearm, was found during the investigation, Chief Deputy District Attorney Kent Lovern said Thursday.
Carmen Pitre, executive director of Sojourner Family Peace Center, said she did not know the specifics of the case but said, in general, it’s not unusual for domestic violence victims to decline to participate in the process — mainly for their own safety.
“It is often for very legitimate reasons they decide not to participate,” she said. “As a community we have to figure out how to work with that, and around that, and achieve safety.”
The center, which serves families affected by domestic violence, is notified of every domestic violence homicide in Milwaukee County, Pitre said.
“It’s heartbreaking anytime we hear about it,” she said. “My sympathies go out to everybody who knew her and loved her. It’s tragic.”
The Sojourner Family Peace Center in Milwaukee operates a 24-hour hotline at (414) 933-2722. The National Domestic Abuse hotline is (800) 799-7233 and the National Child Abuse Hotline is (800) 422-4453.