Ashley Hudson, a 30-year-old Black/African American woman from Milwaukee, was killed late on June 16, 2025, after a long-running family conflict erupted into violence near West Vliet Street and North Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive. Shortly before 11 p.m., a confrontation developed outside the Park East Lofts area, where several members of Hudson’s family had gathered.
Investigators later concluded that the dispute was connected to tensions over social-media posts and was not a random street attack.
According to the criminal complaint, two civilians began recording the confrontation after hearing a loud argument. The footage showed two of Hudson’s sisters attacking her with an aluminum baseball bat. At different points both attackers were seen using the bat, and Hudson attempted to get inside a parked vehicle to escape the assault. The attackers continued swinging and thrusting the bat toward her while she was inside the vehicle. Investigators said Hudson eventually came back out holding a knife, which the complaint described as being held as though she were trying to keep the attackers away from her.
A witness told detectives that sisters Aaliyah Frison and another sibling had been angry with Hudson over social-media posts and had traveled to the area to confront her. During the confrontation, Hudson initially threw a bottle toward Aaliyah and later produced the knife as the altercation escalated. Their mother, Tara Hudson, arrived separately in another vehicle. The criminal complaint alleges that Hudson’s 15-year-old brother, Hezile J. Frison, went to Tara Hudson’s vehicle and retrieved a handgun.
The video evidence described by prosecutors showed Hudson backing away from Hezile with her hands raised while he advanced toward her with the gun pointed in her direction. Voices on the recording could be heard urging him not to shoot. When he came within only a few feet of Hudson, prosecutors allege that he fired at point-blank range. Hudson managed to run several steps before collapsing on the street corner. Officers responding to the shooting found her on the pavement without a pulse and not breathing. Attempts to save her were unsuccessful, and she was pronounced dead at the scene.
An autopsy performed by the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s Office found that the bullet entered through Hudson’s right breast, damaged her heart and lung, and exited through her left back. The medical examiner determined that the gunshot wound caused her death and classified the manner of death as homicide.
Investigators quickly focused on Hudson’s relatives. Hezile Frison, Aaliyah Frison and a 16-year-old sibling were initially taken into custody. According to the complaint, Hezile first denied being present but acknowledged himself after detectives showed him images taken from the videos. Prosecutors said he admitted firing the shot, although his assertion that Hudson had approached him was contradicted by video that authorities said showed Hudson backing away. He was subsequently charged as an adult with first-degree intentional homicide, a Class A felony carrying a possible life sentence. At his June 23, 2025 court appearance, cash bond was set at $100,000.
Aaliyah Frison was charged with aggravated battery as a party to a crime with use of a dangerous weapon for her alleged role in the beating preceding the shooting. Prosecutors said video showed her wielding the bat and pursuing Hudson during the confrontation. Aaliyah later pleaded guilty to the battery charge in October 2025. On January 15, 2026, she was sentenced to two years of probation.
Tara Hudson was charged with obstructing an officer. According to the criminal complaint, she initially told investigators that she had been farther down the street and had not seen who fired the shot. Police said video evidence contradicted that account. During a subsequent interview, she acknowledged witnessing the shooting and identified Hezile as the shooter, telling investigators that Ashley had been backing away and was holding the knife close to her body rather than using it threateningly when the shot was fired.
Court records and reporting also revealed that the deadly confrontation followed years of serious family conflict. In 2023, Hudson had obtained restraining orders involving her mother and one of her sisters and had written in court filings that she feared for her life. The filings described previous confrontations, threats and allegations involving firearms. Her mother had also previously sought restraining orders against Hudson, illustrating a volatile history within the family long before the June 2025 shooting.
As of the most recent reliable published update located, Hezile Frison continued to face the adult first-degree intentional homicide charge. A January 2026 report stated that his case remained pending and that another court appearance was scheduled for February 26, 2026. No later reliable online report located during this review documented a trial verdict or sentencing for him. Aaliyah Frison’s case had reached a disposition with her guilty plea and two-year probation sentence, while the available reporting confirmed the obstruction charge against Tara Hudson but did not provide a later clearly documented final disposition of that charge.
