Jocelyn Jimenez, a 22-year-old White/Caucasian woman, was fatally shot on January 22, 2025, inside a family home on West Cheyenne Street on Milwaukee’s northwest side. Milwaukee police were called to the residence near 40th Street and Cheyenne at about 6:45 p.m. When officers entered, they found three members of the same family suffering from gunshot wounds. Jocelyn was pronounced dead at the scene, while her mother and father were taken for medical treatment and survived their injuries.
The shooting unfolded only hours after members of the family returned to Milwaukee from a monthlong trip to Mexico. According to the criminal complaint and statements later attributed to Jocelyn’s brother, Gerardo Jimenez-Rico, tensions began after his father confronted him about dirty dishes that had accumulated in the sink while the family was away. Jimenez-Rico told investigators that he had not accompanied the family on the trip because he could not afford to go and that he believed his relatives had repeatedly criticized him because he was unemployed. He said the argument intensified when Jocelyn joined the discussion and his father told him he would have to find another place to live.
According to investigators, Jimenez-Rico was carrying a handgun during the confrontation. He told detectives that rather than retreating to his basement bedroom, he became increasingly angry and pointed the gun toward his father, firing more than once. After his father was wounded, Jimenez-Rico claimed that Jocelyn picked up a knife and that he fired at her because he believed she was going to stab him. An autopsy later determined that Jocelyn had suffered four gunshot wounds involving her chest, back, arm and lungs. Jimenez-Rico also shot his mother when she entered the area. He later told police he had not intended to shoot her and could not explain why he had fired at her.
Jocelyn’s injured mother identified her son as the shooter when police arrived. Officers had only begun looking for Jimenez-Rico when he walked into Milwaukee Police Department’s District One station and told officers that he had a confession to make. He acknowledged shooting members of his family and was taken into custody. Prosecutors initially charged him with first-degree intentional homicide in Jocelyn’s death along with two counts of attempted first-degree intentional homicide in connection with the shootings of his parents. At his initial court appearance on January 27, cash bond was set at $1 million.
As the criminal case progressed, Jimenez-Rico ultimately resolved the charges through guilty pleas rather than taking the case to trial. On May 20, 2025, he pleaded guilty to first-degree reckless homicide, attempted second-degree intentional homicide and first-degree reckless injury. The convictions covered Jocelyn’s killing and the attacks on his parents. On June 24, a Milwaukee County judge sentenced him to a total of 35 years in state prison, followed by another 19 years of extended supervision.
Beyond the criminal proceedings, Jocelyn’s death left behind a grieving family and a young child. Relatives described her as deeply devoted to her daughter and said she had been looking forward to building a future with her fiancé. Her family said she had ambitions that included continuing her education in nursing, while relatives also recalled her interest in someday starting her own business and learning more about cake making. What began as an ordinary family homecoming after a trip ended within hours in a shooting that killed Jocelyn, seriously wounded both of her parents, and eventually sent her brother to prison for decades.
