Travon S. Overton, a 16-year-old African-American male, was found fatally shot on October 13, 2016, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. His body was discovered at approximately 10:30 a.m. in an alley in the 200 block of North 38th Street, near West Park Hill Avenue on the city's west side. The teenager was found wedged between a residential garage and garbage containers, prompting an immediate response from the Milwaukee Police Department.
What began as an ordinary Thursday morning for nearby residents became the scene of a homicide investigation as authorities worked to determine how Travon had been killed and why his body had been left in such an isolated location.
The discovery was made after a landscaper working at the property noticed the body and contacted the homeowner, urging her to return immediately. When she arrived, she learned that a young person had been found dead beside her garage. Investigators determined that Travon had suffered a gunshot wound, and photographs of the scene showed what appeared to be a bullet hole in the garage wall. The homeowner and surrounding neighbors expressed shock and sadness, with one resident questioning whether the shooting had actually occurred in the neighborhood. Police did not immediately establish where the fatal gunshot had been fired or what circumstances had brought Travon to the alley. The Milwaukee County Medical Examiner's Office became involved, and an autopsy was scheduled for October 14, 2016.
As news of the killing spread, additional details emerged about Travon's difficult upbringing. He had been attending North Division High School and was living with his grandfather, Derrick Laymond, on the opposite side of Milwaukee. Laymond described a childhood marked by family instability and separation from his parents. According to his grandfather, Travon was one of nine children who had been removed from their parents' care because of problems involving drugs and neglect. Laymond explained that Travon's father and an older brother were incarcerated and that he had tried to provide guidance and stability for his grandson. His comments reflected the frustration and heartbreak of someone who had struggled to protect a young family member from the dangers surrounding him.
Laymond also questioned whether the alley was the actual location of the shooting. He suspected that Travon might have been killed somewhere else and that his body had subsequently been transported and abandoned beside the garage. However, this was his personal suspicion rather than a conclusion publicly confirmed by investigators. He acknowledged that police had provided the family with little information about the circumstances of his grandson's death. The family's grief was compounded by another recent tragedy, as Laymond revealed that one of Travon's cousins had also been murdered. Milwaukee Public Schools extended condolences to the family following confirmation that Travon had been a student in the district.
Milwaukee police classified Travon's death as a homicide and began investigating the events leading to the shooting. Detectives sought to determine a motive and identify the person or persons responsible. At the time of the initial investigation, authorities had not publicly identified any suspects, and no one was in custody. Investigators also had not established whether the killing resulted from a personal dispute, a targeted attack, or another circumstance. The discovery of the body and the gunshot damage near the garage provided important questions for investigators, but publicly available reporting did not establish a definitive sequence of events.
Travon's killing was reported as Milwaukee's 106th homicide of 2016, adding another young life to the city's growing toll of gun violence. His death left his family searching for answers while investigators continued seeking information about the shooting. Subsequent publicly accessible reporting reviewed for this case did not identify a confirmed suspect or document an arrest, criminal charges, trial, or conviction specifically connected to his murder. Although the initial investigation was active, the available information does not establish that anyone has been brought to justice. Travon is remembered as a teenager whose life ended before he had the opportunity to reach adulthood, leaving unresolved questions about his final hours, the person responsible for his death, and the circumstances that led to his body being discovered in a Milwaukee alley.
