Milwaukee woman killed in shooting, man turns self in; family holds vigil
MILWAUKEE - Loved ones gathered on Sunday, July 7, to remember Latonia Ford, a mother and Milwaukee Public Schools teacher.
Police say the 51-year-old was shot and killed near 57th and Hampton on Saturday, July 6. Detectives say the shooting was domestic violence related, and a 52-year-old male suspect turned himself into police custody.
Authorities are not releasing his name and he has not been charged, but Ford's family said it's a man she'd been in a relationship with. Her sister, Cheryl Ford-Ross, said she was shot 15 times by her ex-boyfriend.
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Remembering a mother
No matter the weather, amid a heavy downpour with even heavier hearts, Ford’s family and friends showed up to show love.
"I’m angry, and I want to know why he took my sister’s life," Ford-Ross said. "She didn’t deserve it."
She wants justice for her sister.
"Her crazy boyfriend for eight years, he didn’t want her, but he didn’t want anyone else to have her," she said. "She just recently removed herself from the situation and he moved out her house and he followed her somewhere, and he shot her senselessly, 15 times."
Latonia Ford
Family said while Ford was a teacher, more than anything, she was a loving mother.
"Her daughter will be going off to college without her mom here to take her," Ford-Ross said.
Ford’s family has started a GoFundMe to help with funeral costs.
Honoring a friend
For over 30 years, June Harper-Cheeks has known Ford as a friend, sister and fellow educator.
"It’s sad. I miss her, I miss her a lot," she said. "We got people out here making a difference to the world and to kids. To take somebody so important away that had so much resources to help the community, it's senseless."
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Ford’s family wants someone to be held accountable.
Latonia Ford and Cheryl Ford-Ross
"I want him to pay for taking my sister’s life," Ford-Ross said. "There is nothing else he can do but pay for taking her life."
Milwaukee police said charges have been referred to the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office.