Wilhelm “Bill” Hospel was an 81-year-old White/Caucasian male whose life was taken in the Waukesha Christmas Parade attack in November 2021. Although the attack occurred on November 21, online records and his obituary state that Hospel died on November 22, 2021, after being taken to a hospital and undergoing surgery for the injuries he suffered. Born in Kleve, Germany, Hospel came to the United States with his family as a teenager and spent much of his life in southeastern Wisconsin.
He and his wife, Lola, had been married for 61 years, and he was the father of two children and grandfather of two.
Hospel was at the annual Waukesha Christmas Parade because of his longstanding connection to the Milwaukee Dancing Grannies. Lola had performed with the group, and Bill had become a familiar volunteer at its appearances. He walked alongside the women, helped transport supplies, handed out water or ice chips, and took photographs and videos while they performed. Friends described him as someone who was always willing to help. Even in retirement, he remained active, doing repair work at rental property he owned, spending time outdoors, hunting, riding ATVs and playing pickleball.
The parade was underway in downtown Waukesha during the late afternoon of November 21 when a red Ford Escape entered the closed parade route. Authorities later identified the driver as Darrell E. Brooks Jr. Earlier that afternoon, Brooks had been involved in a domestic disturbance near the parade area involving a former girlfriend. Police were dispatched to investigate, but Brooks had left before officers arrived. Authorities emphasized that police were not chasing Brooks when he entered the parade route and later said there was no evidence that the attack was terrorism or that Brooks personally knew the people he struck.
As Brooks approached the parade procession, officers and others attempted to get him to stop. A Waukesha police detective encountered the SUV as it entered the route, struck the hood and repeatedly ordered the driver to stop. Instead, Brooks continued forward and began accelerating through the parade. The vehicle traveled along Main Street through groups of marchers and spectators, striking people over several blocks. One officer fired at the SUV in an effort to stop it but discontinued firing because of the danger posed to the large number of people nearby.
Hospel was walking with the Dancing Grannies when the SUV came through their portion of the parade. Three members of the group — Virginia Sorenson, LeAnna Owen and Tamara Durand — were also fatally struck. Witnesses described the scene afterward as chaotic, with victims scattered along the roadway and spectators, police officers and other parade participants attempting to help the injured. Hospel sustained severe injuries when the SUV struck him and additional injuries when his body hit the pavement.
Emergency personnel transported Hospel to the hospital, where doctors attempted to save him. During the later criminal trial, medical-examiner testimony established that he died following surgery. His death was attributed to multiple blunt-force injuries consistent with being struck by a moving vehicle weighing more than 3,000 pounds. His death is therefore recorded by his obituary as November 22, the day after the parade attack.
Brooks left the damaged Ford Escape after the attack and was taken into custody a short distance from the parade route that same evening. Investigators concluded that he had acted alone. He was initially charged on November 23 with five counts of first-degree intentional homicide for the deaths then attributed to the attack, including Hospel's. An additional homicide charge was filed after eight-year-old Jackson Sparks died from injuries suffered in the parade. In all, six people died and more than 60 others were injured.
The criminal case eventually grew to 76 charges. Brooks was prosecuted for six counts of first-degree intentional homicide, 61 counts of first-degree recklessly endangering safety, six counts of hit-and-run involving death, two felony bail-jumping counts and one misdemeanor battery count connected with domestic abuse. Prosecutors maintained that Brooks' actions demonstrated intent because he continued driving through the crowded route despite repeated opportunities and commands to stop, steering through groups of people as the SUV continued along the parade.
Brooks went to trial in Waukesha County Circuit Court in October 2022. After initially having attorneys, he chose to represent himself. The proceedings lasted several weeks and included testimony from police officers, parade participants, survivors, medical professionals and other witnesses. Jurors also heard testimony concerning the deaths of Hospel and the other victims and the extensive injuries suffered by dozens of survivors.
On October 26, 2022, the jury found Brooks guilty on all 76 counts, including first-degree intentional homicide for causing Hospel's death. The jury reached its verdicts after only a few hours of deliberation. The convictions established criminal responsibility not only for the six deaths but also for the injuries caused as Brooks drove through the parade procession.
On November 16, 2022, Waukesha County Circuit Court Judge Jennifer Dorow sentenced Brooks to six consecutive life sentences without eligibility for extended supervision, effectively ensuring that he will spend the remainder of his life in prison. One of those life sentences was specifically imposed for the killing of Wilhelm Hospel. Brooks also received hundreds of additional years of imprisonment for the reckless-endangerment, hit-and-run, bail-jumping and battery convictions, including more than 762 years of additional confinement on the reckless-endangerment counts.
Hospel's death left behind Lola, their children Lori and Brian, their grandchildren Nicole and Tyler, his brothers and a wide circle of relatives and friends in the United States and Germany. To members of the Milwaukee Dancing Grannies, he was not simply someone accompanying his wife to a parade. He had become part of their extended family, the dependable person walking alongside them and making sure they had what they needed. What began that November afternoon as another occasion for Bill Hospel to support his wife and her friends ended with one of the most devastating acts of violence in Waukesha's history, followed nearly a year later by the conviction and permanent imprisonment of the man responsible.
