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:

  1. Multiple homicides – homicides having multiple victims.
  2. 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
  3. 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.[1][2]

Multiple homicides

Listed in chronological order

Incident Location Date Deaths Description Sources
Taliesin murdersSpring Green1914-087Murder of Frank Lloyd Wright's mistress, Mamah Borthwick, and six others by a chef working at the site[3]
Peter ZimmerMineral Point

May 23, 1983

3Murdered his adoptive parents and brother at their Iowa County farmhouse[4]
Christopher ScarverPortageNovember 28, 19943Killed Jeffrey Dahmer while in prison, also killed another prisoner at the same time; previously killed a Wisconsin Conservation Corps supervisor in 1990[5]
Chai VangMeteorNovember 21, 20046Deer hunting dispute turned into mass shooting[6]
Terry RatzmannBrookfieldMarch 12, 20058Mass shooting at Living Church of God[7]
Crandon shootingCrandonOctober 7, 20077Off-duty sheriff's deputy fatally shot six persons, including his ex-girlfriend, at a post-homecoming party and then committed suicide[8]
Yolanda BrownMilwaukeeOctober 16, 20072R&B singer and record producer fatally shot at recording studio[9]
Wisconsin Sikh temple shootingOak CreekAugust 5, 20128Mass shooting at Sikh temple[10]
Azana Spa shootingBrookfieldOctober 21, 20124Estranged husband of worker entered spa in suburban Milwaukee, four killed including the wife and shooter[11]
Aaron SchaffhausenRiver FallsJuly 10, 20123Father slit throats of his three daughters (ages 5, 8, and 11) the year after divorce from their mother[12]
Steven ZelichWest Allis2012–20132Former police officer known as the "Wisconsin Suitcase Murderer"[13]
Ashlee MartinsonPiehlMarch 7, 20152Convicted of murdering her mother and stepfather on the day after her 17th birthday
Kidnapping of Jayme ClossBarronOctober 15, 2018221-year-old broke into house, fatally shot parents, and kidnapped 13-year-old girl for 88 days[14]
Milwaukee brewery shootingMilwaukeeFebruary 26, 20206A 51-year-old worker at Molson Coors brewery fatally shot five coworkers and then committed suicide[15]
Kenosha unrest shootingKenoshaAugust 25, 2020217-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse fatally shot two men and wounded another, using an AR-15 rifle; Rittenhouse claimed self-defense and was found not guilty[16]
Waukesha Christmas parade attackWaukeshaNovember 21, 20216Six 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

gypIncident Location Date Deaths Description Sources
Ed GeinPlainfield1947–19572–9Known as the "Butcher of Plainfield"[17]
George Lamar JonesWisconsin, Mississippi1972–19973+Serial killer who lived for a time in Milwaukee
Joseph Paul FranklinMultiple1977–19808–20+White supremacist killer executed 2013[17]
Walter E. EllisMilwaukee1986–20078–10+Known as "The Milwaukee North Side Strangler"[17]
Edward EdwardsWisconsin, Ohio1977–19965–15+Six confirmed victims[17]
Jeffrey DahmerOhio, Wisconsin1978–199116Known as the "Milwaukee Cannibal"[17]
David Van Dyke Milwaukee 1979–1980 6 Burglar who murdered people after tricking them into letting him into their homes [18]
Lorenzo 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 Sources
John McCaffaryKenoshaJuly 23, 1850Convicted of drowning his wife in a cistern, his execution was botched, leading to the abolition of capital punishment in Wisconsin
Little Lord FauntleroyWaukesha1921Unsolved murder of young boy found floating in a pond
Arthur "Buddy" SchumacherWauwatosa1925Unsolved murder of 8-year-old boy; later the subject of the 2012 book Murder in Wauwatosa: The Mysterious Death of Buddy Schumacher
Jack ZutaDelafieldAugust 1, 1930Organized crime figure fatally shot at a roadhouse
Sterling Hall bombingMadisonAugust 24, 1970Bombing at University of Wisconsin as protest of connections with military research during Vietnam War, a physics researcher was killed and three others injured
Murder of Lisa Ann FrenchFond du LacOctober 31, 19739-year old girl murdered and sexually assaulted by neighbor while trick-or-treating alone
Murder of Christine SchultzMilwaukeeMay 28, 1981Former 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"
Murder of Amber CreekBurlington1997-02Teenager who ran away from a youth shelter; suspect convicted of her murder 34 years later
Murder of Traci HammerbergGraftonDecember 15, 198418-year-old murdered while walking home from a party; murderer identified 35 years later
Murder of Susan PoupartLac du FlameauMay 20, 1990Unsolved murder of 29-year-old Native American woman
Jesse AndersonMilwaukeeApril 21, 1992Convicted of murdering his wife Barbara Anderson; was then murdered along with Jeffrey Dahmer in prison by Christopher Scarver
Murder of Alfred KunzDaneMarch 4, 1998Unsolved murder of a Catholic priest found in church with his throat slit
Death of Julie JensenPleasant PrairieDecember 3, 1998Husband convicted of murdering his wife; conviction later overturned; notable for admission into evidence of a letter written by deceased expressing suspicion of husband's intentions
Murder of Glenn KopitskeWinnebago CountyJuly 21, 2003Thrill killing of a bipolar 37-year-old man
Murder of Teresa Halbach
(Steven Avery,
Brendan Dassey)
Manitowoc CountyOctober 31, 2005Photographer murdered by man who hired her to photograph a minivan, later the subject of the Netflix series Making a Murderer
2006 Weston High School shootingCazenoviaSeptember 29, 2006Student fatally shot high school principal
Murder of Cha VangGreen Bay200730-year-old Hmong man shot and stabbed by James Nichols who had expressed racial animus to Hmong people
Murder of Erika HillFitchburg2007-0215-year-old girl was victim of long term abuse and starvation, then beaten, stabbed and asphyxiated by mother
Murder 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 AlnahdiMenomonieOctober 31, 201624-year-old student from Saudi Arabia beaten to death outside a pizzeria in downtown Menomonie
Killing of Ee LeeMilwaukeeSeptember 19, 2020Woman raped and murdered by two teenage boys on video in front of nine other youths
Killing of Lily PetersChippewa FallsApril 22, 202210-year-old girl raped and murdered, her 14-year-old cousin was arrested and is being tried as an adult
John Pier RoemerNew LisbonJune 3, 2022Juneau County judge fatally shot by a man convicted in his court six years earlier

References

  1. August Derleth (1968). Wisconsin Murders. Mycroft & Moran.
  2. Martin Hintz (2007). Got Murder? The Shocking Story of Wisconsin's Notorious Killers. Trails Books. ISBN 978-1-931599-96-2.
  3. William R. Drennan (2008). Death in a Prairie House: Frank Lloyd Wright and the Taliesin Murders. University of Wisconsin Press. ISBN 978-0-299-22214-7.
  4. Bruce Vielmetti (April 26, 2010). "A teen killer's dark secret". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
  5. Jamie Schram (April 28, 2015). "Why I killed Jeffrey Dahmer". New York Post.
  6. "Vang trial disturbing on many level". Winona Post. August 16, 2021.
  7. "Church, Police Probe 7 Murders". CBS News. March 14, 2005.
  8. "Friend: Wis. deputy's shooting rampage started after he was called a 'worthless pig'". The Goshen News. Associated Press. October 9, 2007.
  9. "Cold case heats up Police may have suspect murders of R&B singer, producer; "If this is true, it'll be a big relief"". Fox 6 Now Milwaukee. July 12, 2016.
  10. Rob Mentzer (July 28, 2022). "Wisconsin's Sikh community a decade after fatal temple shooting". NPR.
  11. Madeline Anderson (October 21, 2017). "Azana Salon & Spa marks 5 years since gunmen killed 3, injured 4 others". Fox 6 Milwaukee.
  12. "Mom remembers 3 daughters, a decade after their brutal murders by father". Star Tribune. July 8, 2022.
  13. "Steven Zelich arrested in connection with Wisconsin suitcase bodies case". 7 Eyewitness News. Archived from the original on June 27, 2014. Retrieved June 25, 2014.
  14. Natalie Brophy, Andy Thompson (January 7, 2021). "Two years after teenager Jayme Clooss escaped from captivity, her case remains a source of hope for missing children". Post Crescent.
  15. "A gun collector's paranoia, a wrong suspect and the role of racism. What the Molson Coors mass shooting records reveal". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. November 25, 2000.
  16. Becky Sullivan (November 19, 2021). "Kyle Rittenhouse is acquitted of all charges in the trial over killing 2 in Kenosha". NPR.
  17. 1 2 3 4 5 "Six serial killers who left deep scars on Wisconsin". Wisconsin State Journal. Retrieved October 23, 2022.
  18. "Van Dyke given longest term in state history". Wausau Daily Herald. March 6, 1981. Retrieved March 12, 2023.
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