Diamond Webb, a 31-year-old African-American man from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, was the victim of a brutal double homicide that came to light on June 4, 2016. Webb and his longtime best friend, Westley Thaddeus “Thadd” Barksdale, were found murdered in an alley near North 21st Street and West Atkinson Avenue on Milwaukee’s north side. The two had been close since childhood, sharing a bond so strong that their families considered them brothers.
Both were fathers with families who depended on them, and their violent deaths left loved ones struggling to understand who would have wanted them killed and why.
The investigation began on Saturday morning, June 4, when Milwaukee police received a 911 call reporting a body discovered inside a garbage cart in the 4100 block of North 21st Street. Responding officers arrived to investigate the disturbing discovery and found evidence of a second victim nearby. Webb's body had been concealed inside the garbage container, while Barksdale's body was discovered in the trunk of a rental car abandoned in the same area. Both victims had suffered multiple gunshot wounds and were pronounced dead at the scene. The circumstances suggested that their bodies had been deliberately concealed after the shootings, but investigators did not publicly establish exactly where the murders occurred or how the victims came to be left at that location.
On June 6, 2016, Milwaukee police publicly identified the victims, and news of the double homicide devastated their families. Webb's mother, Jane Webb, described her son as a caring father who looked after his children and family. Barksdale's father, Frank McGowan, expressed disbelief at the violence inflicted on the two friends and appealed for anyone with information to assist investigators. Relatives described Webb and Barksdale as inseparable, emphasizing that they had maintained their friendship throughout their lives. Family members struggled not only with the loss of their loved ones but also with the particularly disturbing manner in which their bodies had been discarded.
Investigators with the Milwaukee Police Department began searching for the person or persons responsible. However, the circumstances leading up to the shootings remained unclear. Authorities did not publicly identify a suspect, establish a motive, or explain whether the two friends had been targeted because of a personal dispute, a previous confrontation, or some other circumstance. The discovery of the bodies in separate containers raised questions about the events preceding their deaths, but police released few details about the evidence recovered or the sequence of events.
As the investigation continued, relatives and community members gathered to remember Webb and Barksdale. On June 6, 2016, a vigil was held near North 4th Street and West Vienna Avenue, where friends and family members mourned together and urged anyone with knowledge of the murders to come forward. The families eventually arranged for the two friends to be buried side by side, preserving in death the close relationship they had shared throughout their lives.
By June 2018, two years had passed without an arrest. Webb's sister, Velvet Webb, spoke publicly about the continuing pain caused by the murders and the lack of answers. She explained that investigators had received leads, but none had produced a breakthrough. Velvet also expressed her belief that her brother had been shot inside a vehicle before his body was moved into the garbage cart. This account reflected information she said the family had received, although authorities had not publicly confirmed the complete sequence of events. For the families, the apparent movement and concealment of the bodies made the crime especially difficult to comprehend.
On June 4, 2018, relatives gathered at the gravesites to mark the second anniversary of the murders. They released balloons in remembrance of the two friends and renewed their appeals for information. Velvet described the emotional toll of knowing that whoever committed the killings remained unidentified and potentially free. The families continued hoping that someone who had witnessed something, heard about the crime, or possessed information about the individuals involved would eventually contact police.
The following year, on June 4, 2019, family members again gathered at Graceland Cemetery in Milwaukee to commemorate the third anniversary. Velvet Webb and other relatives spoke about the lasting grief created by the murders. Webb's cousin, Teair Hutchins, also expressed the family's desire for justice. Despite the passage of three years, the Milwaukee Police Department had not announced an arrest, and investigators continued seeking information that might identify those responsible.
The publicly available reporting on the investigation does not establish that any suspect has been formally identified or charged in connection with the murders. As of the June 2019 anniversary coverage, authorities confirmed that no one had been arrested. No subsequent publicly verified arrest, criminal prosecution, trial, or conviction connected to Webb's death was identified in the available reporting. The motive behind the double homicide also remained undisclosed.
Diamond Webb's murder remains a painful and unresolved chapter for his family and for those who knew both victims. What began as the discovery of two bodies in a Milwaukee alley became a years-long search for answers about the violent deaths of two lifelong friends. Their families have continued to remember them not simply as victims of a particularly disturbing crime, but as fathers, sons, brothers, and friends whose absence has been deeply felt. The Milwaukee Police Department has urged anyone possessing information about the June 4, 2016, double homicide to come forward, with the hope that new evidence or a witness will eventually help bring those responsible to justice.
