"Lakeyshia did the right thing. She tried to avoid this. She was ignored."
That was the message sent by community advocate and radio host Tory Lowe at a prayer vigil Friday for 42-year-old Lakeyshia Timmons. The Milwaukee mother of eight was shot and killed Monday by the father of her children after returning from dropping her kids off at school, according to prosecutors.
Her death came at the end of an arduous and yearslong custody battle over three of her children with their father, 52-year-old Ronald E. Fuller. Her family is speaking out as Timmons seemingly took all the right steps to avoid interactions with Fuller prior to her death.
Latanilia Timmons, Lakeyshia's mother, stood at the scene of her daughter's death in the 2700 block of North 18th Street on Friday with other family, friends and activists to talk about her daughter. "I don't know why Mr. Fuller did this to my daughter, over a custody battle that she won," Latanilia Timmons said. Lakeyshia Timmons was awarded sole custody and primary placement of her children in late February.
Before then, Lakeyshia Timmons filed a restraining order against Fuller, but the court denied her request. Court records show that Lakeyshia Timmons' harassment retraining order against Fuller was denied the same day by Deputy Family Court Commissioner David Pruhs in October 2023. Family said that Lakeyshia Timmons often reported Fuller to the police when he would harass her.
"We gonna have to get something done about this because this is not fair to the system," Latanilia Timmons said. "My daughter did not deserve to die like this."
The Timmons family is requesting a meeting with Mayor Cavalier Johnson and Police Chief Jeffrey Norman. Although they said the mayor's staff has been in touch with them.
Lakeyshia Timmons' 24-year-old daughter, also named Latanilia Timmons, said Friday that, "(My mother) reported everything that he did, all of his tactics, and nothing was done. We need answers. My siblings, they deserve answers. ... This won't rest until something is done."
The Timmons siblings remember their mother as one of the best around, having raised her four adult children all on her own. Lakeyshia Timmons also has four other children ages 3 to 12.
"She had a beautiful soul. She was a nice person," said Jessica Thomas, Lakeyshia Timmons' other 24-year-old daughter. "She was very loved by everyone. Like everybody loved her. You couldn't get no bad comments from my momma. ... If anyone of y'all would have come up to our door saying y'all was hungry, she woulda fed all y'all."
A GoFundMe page set up by the familyhad raised nearly $6,000 by Friday evening.
Court records detail an arduous custody battle
Fuller was charged Thursday with first-degree intentional homicide and is in the Milwaukee County Jail with bail set at $250,000, according to online records. His listed attorney could not be reached Friday.
He once had primary custody of the three girls, now ages 3, 5 and 6, but had always been forced by court order to share custody with Timmons, records show.
The two parents appeared in Milwaukee County courtrooms over custody issues at least 10 times over a period of 4½ years. Relations had been up and down, but as recently as August 2022, both of them agreed they were working well together, records said.
But things soured, again, soon after that, with Fuller making unfounded accusations in court about safety issues in Timmons’ home and about her mental health. At one point, he told a court-appointed investigator that a possible “war is starting,” describing it as “World War III.”
After a hearing in late February – during which Fuller’s remarks were reported – Milwaukee County Court Commissioner Jordan Karth awarded Timmons sole custody and primary placement of her children, but still afforded Fuller custody every other weekend.
That decision was made even though a court-appointed investigator had unspecified concerns about Fuller after speaking with the three children, records said. Fuller did not allow an investigator to visit his home and was unable to answer basic questions in court about what grade his children were in and when they started school in the mornings.
The same investigator who reported concerns about Fuller in February, meanwhile, said the children “were doing great” and their mother’s home was well kept. There were no concerns about their well-being under her watch.
Little over a month later, on Monday, Fuller waited outside Timmons’ home and watched as she left to take their children to school, according to a criminal complaint. When she returned, he approached her and shot her in the street.
Fuller was identified by another one of Timmons’ children after they saw him flee the area, the complaint said. Surveillance video captured the suspect in alleyways and circling Timmons’ home for almost a half-hour before the shooting.
In an interview with police, Fuller said he obtained Timmons’ address from a relative of the family. He said he was seconds away from leaving the area before she got home, according to the complaint. Had he fled, she would have seen him, which he did not want.
He said he had no reason to kill her and there was no misunderstanding between the two.
Domestic violence deaths far too common
Lakeyshia Timmons is the 24th homicide victim this year in Milwaukee. But more than three months into 2024,gun violence has continued to slow, with homicides down 37% and nonfatal shootings 27% from the year before. In 2023, homicides dropped 20%, while nonfatal shootings fell 4%.
Milwaukee and Wisconsin have had an increase in domestic violence since 2020. In 2022, the statebroke its record for domestic violence deathswith 96, according to a report fromEnd Domestic Abuse Wisconsin.
The same report outlined how a 70% drop in federal funding in 2024 would stress shelters in staying open, keeping hotlines staffed and having advocates available to help victims.
Locally, however,as of mid-December, domestic violence-related homicides in Milwaukee County appeared to have fallen from 41 in 2022 to 31 in 2023, according to the Sojourner Family Peace Center, the largest service provider for domestic violence victims in Wisconsin.
Carmen Pitre, the president of the organization, attributed the drop to expanded intervention services as a result of a $1 million grant from the state government.
Where to find help for domestic violence in Milwaukee
Our Peaceful Home, which serves Muslim families and is a program of theMilwaukee Muslim Women’s Coalition, operates a crisis line at 414-727-1090.
TheHmong American Women’s Association, which serves the Hmong and southeast Asian community, has advocates available at414-930-9352from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.
TheAsha Project, which serves African American women in Milwaukee, provides a crisis line from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at414-252-0075.
TheUMOS Latina Resource Centerin Milwaukee offers bilingual, bicultural, domestic violence, sexual assault and anti-human trafficking supportive services and operates a 24-hour hotline at414-389-6510.
TheSojourner Family Peace Centerin Milwaukee operates a 24-hour confidential hotline at414-933-2722.
The National Domestic Violence Hotline is800-799-7233.
Other resources
Milwaukee's Office of Violence Prevention recommends these resources for free support:
414Life outreach and conflict mediation support: 414-439-5525.
Milwaukee County's 24-Hour Mental Health Crisis Line: 414-257-7222.
Milwaukee's Child Mobile Crisis and Trauma Response Team: 414-257-7621.
National crisis text line: Text HOPELINE to 741741 to text with a trained crisis counselor.
Suicide and Crisis Lifeline: Call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org.
Elliot Hughes of the Journal Sentinel contributed to this report.
