Stacia Faye Hollinshead, a 30-year-old White/Caucasian female, was a dedicated mother, an accomplished attorney, and a veteran of the U.S. Army. Her life was tragically cut short on Saturday, March 23, 2019, in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin. A native of Effingham, Illinois, she had served for 11 years as an intelligence analyst in the Army before graduating from Northern Illinois University College of Law in 2018. She had recently started a career as an Assistant State's Attorney in DeKalb County, Illinois, where she was known for her passion and tenacity.
On that fateful day, Stacia traveled to Beaver Dam with her five-year-old daughter. The purpose of the trip was to allow the young girl to visit with her paternal grandparents. Stacia was meeting her ex-husband, Ulisses W. Medina Espinosa, at his parents' home on East Third Street. She had divorced Medina Espinosa in 2016 and had previously sought a protective order against him, signaling a history of domestic troubles.
The visit turned into a scene of unimaginable horror when Ulisses Medina Espinosa arrived at the home. In the presence of their young daughter, who was in a nearby room, he shot Stacia multiple times. The brutal attack left her with fifteen gunshot wounds to her head and back, and she was pronounced dead at the scene. After the shooting, Medina Espinosa reportedly knelt by his daughter and made a chilling statement, telling her, "the judge won't hurt us anymore."
Ulisses W. Medina Espinosa was immediately taken into custody at the scene and was held at the Dodge County Detention Facility. He was charged with first-degree intentional homicide. In December 2020, he pleaded guilty to the charge. During the legal proceedings, it was revealed that Medina Espinosa was angered by financial strain following the divorce. In April 2021, a Dodge County Circuit Court judge sentenced him to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Family members remembered Stacia as a hardworking, intelligent, and devoted mother who had dreamed of becoming an attorney since she was a child. Her death was described by the DeKalb County State's Attorney as the "worst possible outcome of domestic violence."
