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Child shot and killed, parents charged
Two people are now charged in connection with the fatal shooting of a 4-year-old boy at an apartment near 75th and Northridge Lakes, just north of Brown Deer Road in Milwaukee.
MILWAUKEE - Two people are now charged in connection with the fatal shooting of a 4-year-old boy at an apartment near 75th and Northridge Lakes, just north of Brown Deer Road in Milwaukee.
Ralph Taylor, Casandra Taylor
4-year-old dead
What we know:
Charges were filed Monday, July 14, against 35-year-old Ralph Taylor and 33-year-old Casandra Taylor, the parents of 4-year-old Ralph Taylor III.
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According to Wisconsin Circuit Court Access, Ralph Taylor is charged with first-degree intentional homicide and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Casandra Taylor is charged with neglecting a child (consequence is death) and straw purchasing of a firearm.
Complaint details
Dig deeper:
According to the criminal complaint, Milwaukee police were dispatched to the residence around 9:30 p.m. on Thursday. When officers arrived, they were met by several people yelling for help, indicating that a child was shot. On the third floor of the residence, they found the 4-year-old just inside the doorway of a bedroom on the third floor. Despite life-saving efforts by police and the Milwaukee Fire Department, the child, Ralph Taylor III, was pronounced deceased on the scene.
Scene near 75th and Northridge Lakes, Milwaukee
When police initially spoke with defendant Ralph Taylor, he said he was on the phone when he heard a gunshot. Taylor "claimed the gunshot must have come from outside and entered the bedroom through an open third story window. Ralph Taylor told (an officer) there were no weapons or firearms inside the residence," the complaint says. The complaint says the subsequent investigation "would establish that Ralph Taylor lied about all of the surrounding circumstances surrounding how his own four-year-old son...was shot," the complaint says.
In an interview not long after the initial one, the complaint says Ralph Taylor told another officer "that he was texting with his wife while (the 4-year-old) was jumping on a mattress. Ralph Taylor heard a gunshot and observed (the child) fall to the floor. Again, Ralph Taylor claimed that the gunshot must have come through an open third-story window to the residence and struck (the child)," the complaint says.
Scene near 75th and Northridge Lakes, Milwaukee
A detective interviewed a witness on Thursday. She told police she "checked her Ring camera and observed Casandra Taylor, the mother of (the 4-year-old), outside screaming, 'my son, my son, somebody shot my son through the window!'" the complaint says. When the witness went outside and approached Casandra Taylor, Taylor asked the witness to go upstairs and check on her son. She and another neighbor went into the residence and spotted Ralph Taylor holding the child and screaming. As the second neighbor was administering CPR to the child, the complaint says Ralph Taylor said, 'I got to hide my guns.'"
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When the first witness left the residence, the complaint says Casandra Taylor approached her and asked her to hold Taylor's purse for her. The witness was "concerned that the purse had a gun inside and refused to hold the purse," the complaint says. The witness said another neighbor took the purse -- and when that neighbor "checked the purse, there was a gun inside," the complaint says.
Evidence located at scene
What we know:
A Milwaukee police detective was placed in charge of the scene investigation. The detective reported that a Glock semi-automatic handgun was "recovered wrapped inside of two plastic bags in a large Rubbermaid storage container inside a closet located on the third floor" of the residence. The complaint says the "gun had suspected blood on the grip and slide. Inside the same Rubbermaid container there was a Crown Royal bag that contained 96 rounds of 9mm ammunition." Located on the floor of the bedroom where the child was shot, investigators found a single 9mm round, "which would be consistent with a person ejecting the round from a gun to clear the chamber," the complaint says.
Interview of Ralph Taylor
What they're saying:
On July 11, Milwaukee police detectives conducted an interview with Ralph Taylor. The complaint says he initially provided the same response he gave to police on the scene -- that the child had been struck by someone who fired a shot through an open window. About an hour and 13 minutes into the interview, Taylor provided a new version of events, claiming his gun was under a pillow and he never saw the child go underneath the pillows, "but he was behind me and my back was to him. I heard the shot," the complaint says.
Milwaukee shooting: 4-year-old boy dead, 2 people arrested
A 4-year-old boy was shot and killed in Milwaukee on Thursday night. Police arrested two people, one of whom is suspected of intentional homicide.
Before confronting Ralph Taylor with the inconsistencies in this latest version of events, a detective asked what an argument with Casandra Taylor was about. Taylor "admitted that he and Casandra Taylor were arguing over his lack of taking care of (the child)," the complaint says. After the shooting, Taylor "claimed that he put the Glock back underneath the pillows because 'I am a felon,'" the complaint says.
Initial appearance
Ralph Taylor was scheduled to make his initial appearance in Milwaukee County court on Monday, July 14. Online court records have not indicated this has happened.
Casandra Taylor made her initial appearance in Milwaukee County court on Monday. Cash bond was set at $5,000. She is due back in court for a preliminary hearing on July 24.
Casandra Taylor
The Source: The information in this post was provided by Wisconsin Circuit Court Access as well as the criminal complaint associated with this case.