This is a list of homicides in Wisconsin. This list includes notable homicides committed in the U.S. state of Wisconsin that have a Wikipedia article on the killing, the killer, or the victim. It is divided into three subject areas as follows: Multiple homicides – homicides having multiple victims. Serial killers – persons who murder three or more persons with the incidents taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them Single homicides – notable homicides involving a single fatality
Among the works dealing with homicides in Wisconsin are Wisconsin Murders by August Derleth and Got Murder? The Shocking Story of Wisconsin's Notorious Killers by Martin Hintz.
Multiple homicides Listed in chronological order Incident Location Date Deaths Description SourcesTaliesin murdersSpring Green1914-08-147Murder of Frank Lloyd Wright's mistress, Mamah Borthwick, and six others by a chef working at the siteChristopher ScarverPortage1991-11-282Killed Jeffrey Dahmer while in prison, also killed another prisoner at the same time; previously killed a Wisconsin Conservation Corps supervisor in 1990Chai VangMeteor2004-11-216Deer hunting dispute turned into mass shootingTerry RatzmannBrookfield2005-03-128Mass shooting at Living Church of GodCrandon shootingCrandon2007-10-077Off-duty sheriff's deputy fatally shot six persons, including his ex-girlfriend, at a post-homecoming party and then committed suicideYolanda BrownMilwaukee2007-10-162R&B singer and record producer fatally shot at recording studioWisconsin Sikh temple shootingOak Creek2012-08-058Mass shooting at Sikh templeAzana Spa shootingBrookfield2012-10-214Estranged husband of worker entered spa in suburban Milwaukee, four killed including the wife and shooterAaron SchaffhausenRiver Falls2012-07-103Father slit throats of his three daughters (ages 5, 8, and 11) the year after divorce from their motherSteven ZelichWest Allis2012–20132Former police officer known as the "Wisconsin Suitcase Murderer"Ashlee MartinsonPiehl2015-03-072Convicted of murdering her mother and stepfather on the day after her 17th birthdayKidnapping of Jayme ClossBarron2018-10-15221-year-old broke into house, fatally shot parents, and kidnapped 13-year-old girl for 88 daysMilwaukee brewery shootingMilwaukee2020-02-266A 51-year-old worker at Molson Coors brewery fatally shot five coworkers and then committed suicideKenosha unrest shootingKenosha2020-08-25217-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse fatally shot two men and wounded another, using an AR-15 rifle; Rittenhouse claimed self-defense and was found not guiltyWaukesha Christmas parade attackWaukesha2021-11-216Six killed and 62 injured when the perpetrator deliberately hit participants and observers with his SUV at Christmas parade
Serial killers Listed in chronological order by date of earliest homicide Incident Location Date Deaths Description SourcesEd GeinPlainfield1947–19572–9Known as the "Butcher of Plainfield"George Lamar JonesWisconsin, Mississippi1972–19973+Serial killer who lived for a time in MilwaukeeJoseph Paul FranklinMultiple1977–19808–20+White supremacist killer executed 2013Walter E. EllisMilwaukee1986–20078–10+Known as "The Milwaukee North Side Strangler"Edward EdwardsWisconsin, Ohio1977–19965–15+Six confirmed victimsJeffrey DahmerOhio, Wisconsin1978–199117Known as the "Milwaukee Cannibal"David Van DykeMilwaukee1979–19806Burglar who murdered people after tricking them into letting him into their homesLorenzo FayneWisconsin, Illinois1989–19936Serial killer and rapist who murdered one woman and five children in the states of Wisconsin and Illinois
Single homicides Incident Location Date Description SourcesJohn McCaffaryKenosha1850-07-23Convicted of drowning his wife in a cistern, his execution was botched, leading to the abolition of capital punishment in WisconsinLittle Lord FauntleroyWaukesha1921-03-28Unsolved murder of young boy found floating in a pondMurder of Christine SchultzMilwaukee1921-05-28Former Milwaukee police officer convicted for the murder of her husband's ex-wife; she escaped in 1990 in an episode that inspired the slogan "Run, Bambi, Run"Arthur "Buddy" SchumacherWauwatosa1925-07Unsolved murder of 8-year-old boy; later the subject of the 2012 book Murder in Wauwatosa: The Mysterious Death of Buddy SchumacherJack ZutaDelafield1930-08-01Organized crime figure fatally shot at a roadhouseSterling Hall bombingMadison1970-08-24Bombing at University of Wisconsin as protest of connections with military research during Vietnam War, a physics researcher was killed and three others injuredMurder of Lisa Ann FrenchFond du Lac1973-10-319-year old girl murdered and sexually assaulted by neighbor while trick-or-treating aloneMurder of Amber CreekBurlington1997-02Teenager who ran away from a youth shelter; suspect convicted of her murder 19 years later Murder of Margaret AndersonGreen Bay1983-12-26 35-year-old woman tortured and killed by members of 1%er motorcycle gangs.Murder of Traci HammerbergGrafton1984-12-1518-year-old murdered while walking home from a party; murderer identified 35 years laterMurder of Susan PoupartLac du Flameau1990-05-20Unsolved murder of 29-year-old Native American womanJesse AndersonMilwaukee1992-04-21Convicted of murdering his wife Barbara Anderson; was then murdered along with Jeffrey Dahmer in prison by Christopher ScarverMurder of Alfred KunzDane1998-03-04Unsolved murder of a Catholic priest found in church with his throat slitDeath of Julie JensenPleasant Prairie1998-12-03Husband convicted of murdering his wife; conviction later overturned; notable for admission into evidence of a letter written by deceased expressing suspicion of husband's intentionsMurder of Glenn KopitskeWinnebago County2003-07-21Thrill killing of a bipolar 37-year-old manMurder of Teresa Halbach(Steven Avery,Brendan Dassey)Manitowoc County2005-10-31Photographer murdered by man who hired her to photograph a minivan, later the subject of the Netflix series Making a Murderer2006 Weston High School shootingCazenovia2006-09-29Student fatally shot high school principalMurder of Cha VangGreen Bay2007-01-0530-year-old Hmong man shot and stabbed by James Nichols who had expressed racial animus to Hmong peopleMurder of Erika HillFitchburg2007-0215-year-old girl was victim of long term abuse and starvation, then beaten, stabbed and asphyxiated by motherMurder of Amy YearyCampbellsport2008-0818-year-old woman murdered in 2008, body was unidentified for 13 years, aka "Fond du Lac County Jane Doe"Murder of Hussain Saeed AlnahdiMenomonie2016-10-3124-year-old student from Saudi Arabia beaten to death outside a pizzeria in downtown MenomonieKilling of Ee LeeMilwaukee2020-09-19Woman raped and murdered by two teenage boys on video in front of nine other youthsMurder of Shad ThyrionGreen Bay2022-02-2124-year-old American man killed during sexual intercourse and then dismembered.Killing of Lily PetersChippewa Falls2022-04-2210-year-old girl raped and murdered, her 14-year-old cousin was arrested and is being tried as an adultJohn Pier RoemerNew Lisbon2022-06-03Juneau County judge fatally shot by a man convicted in his court six years earlierDeath of Sade RobinsonMilwaukee2024-04-0119-year-old woman killed and dismembered.
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