In the early morning hours of April 17, 2015, a fire tore through a home in the 2400 block of N. 38th St., near Wright St., in Milwaukee. Dontray L. Jones, a 28-year-old African-American man, was killed in the blaze, which was intentionally set. Another individual, 25-year-old Michea S. Sampson, also perished in the fire. The incident was quickly determined to be an act of arson and the deaths were investigated as homicides.
Firefighters were called to the scene shortly after 3:15 a.m.
and were met with a heavy fire. Their efforts to enter the house were initially hampered by the explosion of oxygen cylinders inside the home. One person managed to escape the inferno by jumping from a window, sustaining numerous cuts in the process. Once the fire was under control, the bodies of Jones and Sampson were discovered in a first-floor bedroom closet.
Family and friends of Dontray Jones remembered him as a good father who would be deeply missed. In the days following his death, dozens gathered for his visitation and funeral, many wearing shirts in his honor as they grieved their loss. The family expressed their shock and devastation, struggling to comprehend the violent act that took his life and left his daughter without a father.
The Milwaukee Police Department, along with state fire marshals and agents from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, investigated the scene. While authorities announced that they had developed a suspect in the case, no immediate charges were publicly filed in connection with the arson and double homicide. Two individuals were arrested at the house on the day of the fire on unrelated charges.
