Court finds man accused of fatally shooting 5 family members incompetent to stand trial
Christopher Stokes
MILWAUKEE -- A man accused of killing five family members in Milwaukee was found incompetent to stand trial on Thursday, June 11.
Christopher Stokes faces five counts of first-degree intentional homicide, use of a dangerous weapon against five people -- including his 14-year-old son.
On Thursday, court documents described that Stokes "lacks substantial capacity to understand court proceedings or to assist in his own defense."
The shooting happened inside the family's home near 12th and Locust on April 27.
Prosecutors said two 911 calls came in that morning from Stokes, who said “Um, I just massacred my whole family. The gun is still upstairs with the bodies,” and “I just killed my whole family with my Mossberg.”
The two calls came in at 10:38 a.m. and 10:44 a.m., according to the criminal complaint. Prosecutors said Stokes identified himself by name, and said he was sitting outside the house on the steps. That’s where officers found him when they responded. An officer asked Stokes if he heard any shots, to which he responded, “Yeah, I didn’t hear them. I did them,” the complaint said.
Five killed in shooting near 12th and Locust
Investigators found a 12-gauge Mossberg shotgun on the floor of a bedroom in the upper unit, along with a 25-count box of shells, with 12 unfired shells remaining. Twelve spent shotgun shells were found in the house, according to prosecutors.
The 19-year-old victim, Marcus Stokes, was found in the living room. The other four were in a bedroom. All were shot multiple times, according to the criminal complaint.
Additionally, the complaint noted one of the victims, identified by her initials (LMS) suffered blunt force injuries to back of her head, resulting in skull fractures.
The complaint does not offer a motive.
The Milwaukee Police Department released the identities of the victims Tuesday. Christopher Stokes sister on Thursday, April 30 offered details on how the victims were related to Stokes:
(L-R) Teresa Thomas, Tiera Agee, Demetrius Thomas, Lakeitha Stokes, Marcus Stokes