Wisconsin – A Wisconsin man and his spouse, later identified as 35-year-old RaIph and 33-year-old Cassandra, were taken into custody and charged following the death of their child at their family home. The dad stands accused of first‑degree intentionaI homicide and unIawfuI possession of a firearm as a convicted feIon. The victim’s mom faces charges of negIect of a chiId resuIting in death and straw purchasing a firearm.
The fatal incident happened last week at the family’s residence in Wisconsin. Police were dispatched after neighbors reported hearing a gunshot and seeing people screaming for help. Officers who arrived on scene were met by individuals shouting that a child had been shot. Responding officers and the local fire department found the victim unconscious inside a third‑floor bedroom. He was declared dead at the scene.
According to the probable‑cause affidavit, the victim’s dad initially told officers he was on the phone inside when he heard a single gunshot and believed it came from outside, entering through an open window. He also claimed there were no guns in the home.
Later, he changed his account, saying the shot came from a piIIow under which he kept his handgun and that he never saw how the child was shot. Investigators found this version inconsistent with physical evidence and witness statements .
A witness, whose child was also in the home, told detectives that the victim’s mom came out screaming that someone allegedly shot her child through the window, before running upstair. Another neighbor recounted that as they attempted CPR on the victim, the victim’s dad told them that he has to hide his weapons.
Wisconsin authorities later discovered a semi‑automatic pistol, wrapped in plastic bags and stored inside a bin, with blood on the grip and slide. A separate firearm was found concealed in the closet and was handed off by the victim’s mom to a neighbor during the chaos.
During interviews, authorities learned that the defendant was a convicted felon with a documented history of domestic violence and alcohol abuse. Witnesses, including his 12‑year‑old stepchiID, reported that his mom’s husbamd became aggressive when he drank and had threatened family members.
The child also revealed that an argument over a gaming consoIe earlier that evening led the defendant to become enraged, break his mom’s laptop, and drag the younger child to the bedroom where the shot occurred.
According to the affidavit, forensic examination indicated that the child died from a gunshot wound fired at extremely close range. The entrance wound was located inside the mouth, consistent with the gun being placed in the child’s mouth before the trigger was pulled.
Following that discovery, the shooter changed his story again, claiming the child had handled the gun himself, but police determined that version false .
The 12-year-old child told Wisconsin authorities that the man became enraged after the victim moved the gming consoIe from one room to another without permission. Witnesses said the defendant started drinking, became violent, smashed the child’s mother’s laptop, and made threats. During this angry episode, he grabbed his child, took him upstairs, and locked the door. Shortly after, the fatal gunshot was heard.
The victim’s mom (SEE PHOTO) initially denied involvement but later admitted to buying firearms at her husband’s request despite knowing he was ineligible to possess them. She acknowledged knowledge of the firearm’s presence in the bedroom that night and admitted to purchasing ammunition that was later discovered in the home.
