Milwaukee Northridge Lake mother, daughter deaths, 911 calls released
MILWAUKEE - Khalilah Brister, 25, and her daughter, Tyrielle Jefferson, 7, were found dead Thursday, Dec. 8 in a vehicle submerged in Milwaukee's Northridge Lake. Family members believe it could have been prevented.
Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley said Tuesday, Dec. 13, anytime there is a death or violence, the ball was dropped somewhere.
Crowley and Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson are looking to the investigation to find answers.
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On Dec. 8, someone noticed something in the water at Northridge Lake. It was a car. Inside were the bodies of Brister and Jefferson.
"We could've been involved beforehand so, you know, maybe next time, somebody's family ain't gotta go through this kinda stuff, man, and they can pay attention to when people say they need help," said Donnell Boose, Jefferson's great uncle.
Car pulled from Northridge Lake; Khaliah Brister and Tyrielle Jefferson
At a vigil Monday night, family members were still searching for answers. We got some of them Tuesday when the county released 911 calls.
Public records show a 911 call first came in Wednesday from Brister's mother. The call was transferred from Milwaukee police to the county's Office of Emergency Management who got deputies rolling.
"Can you start heading down to the Lincoln Memorial Drive area," said a dispatcher. "Caller reporting that her daughter is threatening to drive into the lake."
A woman ran into Brister and Jefferson.
"The little girl was crying, freaking out and said her mom told her to come find somebody to call her grandma because she was going to jump in the water," said a dispatcher.
Deputies went to Bradford Beach, but the car wasn't there. The witness told dispatchers Brister was heading up to Brown Deer.
"Milwaukee County dispatch," said a dispatcher. "Got a call from a witness stating that her daughter was going through some things, and she was going to try and drive into the lake, but she ended up leaving and is traveling to Brown Deer and Green Bay area.
Other agencies in the area were alerted, but that is where it seems the search stopped.
"We have two individuals that were pulled out of a pond, out of a lake," said Crowley. "The fact that somebody died, you always say the ball was dropped because there’s ways we should be preventing any community violence we’re seeing here in Milwaukee."
Crowley said Tuesday it was too early to say what could have prevented this.
"My thoughts and prayers are with this family, but we should allow this investigation to play out, so we have a better understanding of what exactly happened," said Crowley.
No Amber Alert was issued. That has certain requirements. A child must be in danger, and the agency that issues it must have enough information about the child and suspect...
"We will continue to look into the issue as to why that was not delivered," said Mayor Johnson.