Police ID mother, four-year-old girl killed in fire that police say was intentionally set



MILWAUKEE -- Milwaukee police on Monday, March 21st identified the woman and child that died in a house fire near 68th and Stevenson on the city's west side late Saturday, March 19th.

The victims are identified as 28-year-old Jessica Ellenberger and her four-year-old daughter, Madyson Marshel.

Jessica Ellenberger and Madyson Marshel



A Go Fund Me page has been set up for the victims of this fire.

A message on that page reads as follows:

On March 19th, my brother Christopher lost two very important people in his life: his daughter Madyson (4) and her mother Jessie. This horrific tragedy has rocked our family and become a deep emotional burden on my brother. Little Madyson was the light of his life and the most wonderful little girl who didn't deserve to be taken from this earth so suddenly. Just a few weeks ago, little Madyson had beaten cancer and had a new outlook on her bright future.

We as a family are starting this Go Fund Me on behalf of my brother,  whom we love very much, to help him cover the costs associated with taking care of the burial arrangements and restabilizing his life in this delicate tragedy.

Please keep my brother Christopher, Jessie's family, and ours in your prayers as we struggle to rebuild after such a tragedy.

Thank you and God bless you all.


Police say the fire is believed to have been intentionally set.

The victims were found dead inside the home around 9:00 p.m. Saturday.

Police are seeking suspects and working to determine a motive in this case. Autopsies have been performed on Ellenberger and Marshel, but those results are under non-disclosure.

Fire near 68th and Stevenson



FOX6 News spoke with a neighbor and friend of the woman and her daughter who were killed in this fire.

"I didn't see any flames. You could smell like, a sweet wood smell, like somebody was burning in a fireplace. You could see the smoke through their windows from outside. That's how thick it was -- even in the upstairs unit. You could literally see the smoke. Neither one of them made it. Devastating isn't even the word for it. You don't expect something like that to happen. You don't expect to lose somebody you care about in such a manner. I adored both of them -- but I especially adored that child. That was my sweet little girl, is what I called her. They loved each other. You saw it between them. Any time they were together, they laughed. They had fun. Every time I saw that child, she would run up and I'd get a hug and kiss and 'I love you.' She called me 'auntie.' I'm very complimented with that. I loved both of them a great deal. I really did. They weren't just neighbors. They were somebody that was deep in my heart. I just know for myself -- the shock if all of this is just starting to be real. If it is (a homicide,) I hope whomever took their lives, if that is the case, they find whoever did this. There was no commotion out here (Saturday) night. There was no yelling. No screaming. There was nothing," Vicki Clark said.

Fire near 68th and Stevenson



Clark said the owner of the duplex where the fire occurred is related to the woman and child killed in the fire, and lives in the upper unit.

Clark said the duplex's owner is the one who called 911 in this case.

Fire near 68th and Stevenson