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MILWAUKEE - A Milwaukee County jury found a man guilty in what prosecutors described as a drug-deal-turned-setup that left Cory Fritz dead in 2025.
Guilty at trial
In court:
The district attorney's office charged Gregory Hamilton, 45, with felony murder-armed robbery. A jury found Hamilton guilty on Thursday, the fourth day of the trial, after deliberating for roughly 25 minutes.
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Another man charged in the case, 43-year-old Travis Cooper, pleaded guilty to felony murder in January.
Both Hamilton and Cooper are scheduled to be sentenced next Thursday, Aug. 20.
Travis Cooper, Gregory Hamilton
Deadly drug deal setup
The backstory:
Prosecutors accused Cooper and Hamilton of killing Fritz, a 33-year-old Appleton man, over some weed edibles.
It happened near 43rd and Good Hope in Milwaukee late on March 2, 2025. Surveillance videos helped piece together what happened – including Cooper circling the neighborhood in wait, even buying a drink at a gas station.
Cory Fritz
A criminal complaint said Cooper, Hamilton's best friend, was the stick-up man. But during the holdup, prosecutors said Fritz confronted Cooper and was shot in the head during a struggle. But Fritz wasn't dead.
Prosecutors said Hamilton told a neighbor Fritz hit his head on a mailbox. The neighbor then helped put Fritz in his truck and parked it on the neighbor's property. Fritz died about a day later at Froedtert Hospital.
Phone calls between Hamilton and Cooper tipped off investigators to the setup. When police searched Cooper's home, court filings say they found drugs and Fritz's duffle bag.
The Source: Information in this story is from the Milwaukee County District Attorney's Office, Wisconsin Circuit Court and prior coverage of the case.