Milwaukee fatal shooting; woman killed, man turns self in
MILWAUKEE - A Milwaukee man accused of shooting and killing his girlfriend made his initial court appearance on Wednesday, July 10.
The accused is 52-year-old Kenny Knight. He faces the following criminal counts:
- First-degree intentional homicide, use of a dangerous weapon
- Possession of a firearm by a felon
Police say he fatally shot 51-year-old Latonia Ford, a Milwaukee Public Schools teacher.
Case details
According to the criminal complaint, Milwaukee Police Department officers responded near 57th and Hampton on Saturday, July 6, around 8:49 a.m. for a shooting. Upon arrival, the officers observed a female inside a vehicle, struck by gunfire.
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Ford was inside the vehicle, with noticeable gunshot wounds. The driver’s window had been shot out.
Kenny L Knight
Members of the Milwaukee Fire Department arrived on scene and Ford was pronounced deceased just before 9 a.m.
Per the complaint, Ford had been shot 16 times, and the 16 spent 10mm casings were recovered from the scene.
Knight had previously been convicted of substantial battery - intended bodily harm, in Milwaukee County, back in November 2002.
Turning himself in
According to the criminal complaint, Knight arrived at MPD - District 4, around 9:24 a.m. that morning.
Knight allegedly told an officer, "morning boss, I am here to turn myself in, I just shot my girlfriend."
Scene near 57th and Hampton
A detective Scott Schmitz conducted an interview of tKnight, in which the defendant said he had dated Ford for about eight years and they had been living together. He said he moved out July 1 because she had started talking to another person.
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Per the complaint, Knight wrote a note to police and signed and dated it, writing, "I, Kenny Knight, drove by Latonia Ford’s home around 8:30 a.m. and noticed that her vehicle wasn’t there. I then began drinking liquor and decided to go by her friend’s house. I noticed Latonia sitting in her car talking on the phone [...] I walked up to her car on the passenger side and first banged on the window and when the window didn’t break I began shooting at her until the gun was empty."
Remembering a mother
Loved ones gathered on Sunday, July 7, to remember Ford.
Her sister, Cheryl Ford-Ross, told FOX6 News she wanted justice for her sister.
Milwaukee woman killed in shooting, man turns self in; family holds vigil
Loved ones gathered on Sunday, July 7, to remember Latonia Ford, a mother and Milwaukee Public Schools teacher, who was fatally shot the day before.
"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."
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.
Knight is facing life in prison and $25,000 in fines upon conviction.