Pregnant Milwaukee woman killed, vigil held near 26th and Hadley

Vigil for pregnant woman killed in Milwaukee

Loved ones held a vigil and balloon release Friday to remember Gladys Johnson, the pregnant woman who was killed on the city's north side.

MILWAUKEE - Loved ones held a vigil and balloon release Friday to remember Gladys Johnson, the pregnant woman who was killed earlier this week on the city's north side.

"Everybody's overwhelmed, it's so much chaos and confusion, and it's hard because they were in the house with her the whole time and never knew she was in there dead," said Josie Johnson-Smith, Gladys' aunt. "We're just devastated right now."

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26th and Hadley

The backstory:

Milwaukee police said they were called to a home near 26th and Hadley late Monday night. It was reported that a man with a gun had started a fire in a bedroom.

The body of 22-year-old victim Gladys Johnson was found inside that home. The Milwaukee County Medical Examiner's Office has called her death a homicide.

Police said they arrested a 21-year-old man for arson. FOX6 News later found police records that show the 21-year-old man was booked on a recommended charge of first-degree intentional homicide. 

Michelle Johnson said her daughter, Gladys, was five months pregnant. She said the 21-year-old, who is the father of Gladys' 3-year-old daughter and unborn son, tried to convince her that Gladys had been asleep all day upstairs.

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"Why would you take her life like that, and you knowing she having a baby by you? What was on your mind? If a person don’t want to be with you, just walk away," Johnson told FOX6 News on Tuesday.

The medical examiner's office noted there was a history of domestic violence. Court records show the same man had a child in common with Gladys but does not appear to have any criminal history or restraining orders in Wisconsin.

What you can do:

Johnson's mother started a GoFundMe online fundraiser to help with funeral expenses.