Milwaukee mother killed, 15th and Cherry; Ziare Dalton found not guilty

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Ziare Dalton

MILWAUKEE - A Milwaukee County jury found Ziare Dalton not guilty on Thursday, Jan. 22 of felony murder in connection with the death of a woman near 15th and Cherry in April 2025.

Previously reported details of this case are listed below.

Case details

What we know:

Prosecutors say a teen shot Dalton and inadvertently killed his mother while trying to stop a domestic violence incident. 

Police were called to 15th and Cherry around 10:30 p.m. on Friday, April 18, 2025. Court filings said detectives found nine rifle casings. Two people, Dalton and the mother, were shot. Dalton was taken to a hospital and survived, while the mother later died of her wounds.

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According to a criminal complaint, a police officer rode with Dalton in an ambulance from the shooting scene to the hospital. Dalton said he was arguing with the mother when her 17-year-old son – his stepson – shot him.

Court filings said two other children, ages 11 and 9, were home when Dalton and the mother began to argue. The 11-year-old said Dalton was hitting the mother and yelling "bad words." The 11-year-old also said Dalton had hit the mother before and "she couldn't do anything to stop it."

The 17-year-old came home during the argument and tried to de-escalate the situation, per the complaint. The 11-year-old said Dalton threatened to kill the 17-year-old, and the mother then called 911.

In the 911 call, court filings said the mother was heard telling the dispatcher that Dalton was hitting her and the 17-year-old while threatening to kill the 17-year-old. Dalton could be heard in the background screaming at the 17-year-old – "encouraging him to fire the gun." The call captured multiple gunshots before it disconnected.

Detectives later interviewed the 17-year-old, who is charged in a separate case with a gun-related felony and a misdemeanor – but not with shooting his mother or stepfather. The complaint states Dalton had hit his mother before, including the previous night, and had threatened to kill him and his family members.

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The 17-year-old told detectives, per the complaint, that on the night of the shooting he heard Dalton jump on his mother as she yelled for him to stop. He then grabbed a gun and shot Dalton multiple times. He said he did not know his mother was in the line of fire and shot at Dalton to "protect his family." He also said Dalton kept multiple guns in the house.