On a spring afternoon in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the life of 18-year-old Audrea Williams, a Black female, was tragically cut short. On March 30, 2016, inside a residence near 81st and Villard, what began as a domestic dispute escalated to a fatal conclusion. Williams, a new mother to a two-month-old son, was with the child's father, 19-year-old Frank Lopez Jr., in a bedroom.
Others in the home reported hearing screaming and yelling for about ten minutes, a prelude to the sound of a single gunshot.
When police arrived, they found a distressing scene. A woman flagged them down, urging them to hurry as Williams was losing consciousness. Inside, an officer discovered Williams on a bedroom floor with a man applying pressure to a wound on the back of her head. Though still breathing, she was unable to speak. A single. 25 caliber casing lay nearby. Williams was rushed to a hospital but ultimately succumbed to a single gunshot wound to her head. Her death was officially ruled a homicide.
In the immediate aftermath, Lopez Jr. fled the scene. A witness told investigators that Lopez Jr. emerged from the bedroom and exclaimed, "I just shot my baby's mama!". He was described as distraught and angry, also stating, "I can't lose my baby's mama." However, he also gave a conflicting account, claiming Williams had shot herself. The couple's infant son was briefly taken from the scene by a witness but was returned and placed with Child Protective Services. As her family mourned, they remembered Audrea as an ambitious young woman who loved to dance, do hair, and above all, cherished her role as a mother to her son, whom she called her "prince".
The search for Frank Lopez Jr. ended when he turned himself in to the authorities on April 1st. He was subsequently charged with first-degree reckless homicide with the use of a dangerous weapon. His initial court appearance led to a competency examination being ordered. After being found competent to proceed, Lopez Jr. initially pleaded not guilty. However, he later pleaded guilty to the charges. As a result, Frank Lopez Jr. was sentenced to 20 years in prison, with an additional 10 years of extended supervision for the death of Audrea Williams.
