Milwaukee officers shot, Tremaine Jones trial: Thursday recap

Milwaukee officers shot, Tremaine Jones trial: Thursday recap

Thursday marked the third day of testimony in the trial of Tremaine Jones. A woman who was arrested and charged took the stand, as did the deputy chief medical examiner who conducted the autopsy of Officer Kendall Corder.

MILWAUKEE - Testimony in the trial of Tremaine Jones, the man accused of killing Milwaukee Police Officer Kendall Corder and wounding Officer Christopher McCray in a shooting last summer, continued on Thursday, April 2. 

Officer Corder's autopsy

What they're saying:

Douglas Kelley, Milwaukee County's deputy chief medical examiner, conducted Corder's autopsy and determined the officer was shot three times. He said one bullet severed the officer's spine, and another struck his chest – and those two shots killed him.

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"At the moment that happens, all connection between brain and everything from neck down ceases to exist," Kelley said in regard to the severing of the spine. 

Assistant District Attorney Grant Huebner: "Would you expect him to drop at that point?"
Kelley: "Right away, instantaneously."

Corder later died at a hospital after he was taken off life support. 

Jermela Kittler testifies

What they're saying:

Jermela Kittler was charged with harboring/aiding a felon. Prosecutors said she lied to police about Jones being in her home prior to his arrest and helped Jones after the officers were shot.

On Thursday, Kittler testified that she previously dated Jones and that Jones' girlfriend challenged her to a fight due to cheating allegations. She said she went with some other people to the area of 25th and Garfield and jumped the girlfriend on June 26, 2025. She also said Jones shot into the air, demanding that another man come out from an apartment building.

Corder and McCray were called to the area to investigate, and they were shot as they turned into an alley. Kittler testified that she did not see that shooting.

Jones asked Kittler to bring him clothes after the fact, she said, and to help him find a backpack that he'd left in the area. Kittler said she saw police in the area when she returned.

Kittler testified as part of a plea agreement that could possibly lead to leniency when she is sentenced in her case.

Legal expert weighs in on Tremaine Jone's trial Thursday

Legal expert Jonathan LaVoy weighs in on the ongoing trial of Tremaine Jones, the man accused of killing Milwaukee Police Officer Kendall Corder and wounding Officer Christopher McCray in a shooting last summer, on Thursday, April 2.

Shooting witness

What they're saying:

A witness who took the stand Thursday morning said he saw Jones carrying a rifle and hiding behind some bushes. He also said he saw the officers get shot.

Huebner: "This individual that we see here with the rifle. Is that the defendant?"
Witness: "Yes, sir."

Huebner: "The area where the bushes and the darkness and the cars, is that where the defendant decided to tell you he was going to post?"
Witness: "Yes, sir."
Huebner: "Does he still have his gun with him?"
Witness: "Yes, sir."

Witness: "One of the officers hit the ground, and the other one – the other one was trying to run off a little bit, but he realized his partner was down, and he came back to help his partner."

Huebner: "Do you see where the shots came from?"
Witness: "They – it came from the bushes."

DNA, forensic evidence

Dig deeper:

A large portion of Thursday's testimony was forensic, including DNA and fingerprint evidence. Find complete coverage here or follow the link below.

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Milwaukee officers shot, Tremaine Jones trial: Live updates April 2

Testimony continued Thursday in the trial of Tremaine Jones, the man accused of killing Milwaukee Police Officer Kendall Corder and wounding Officer Christopher McCray in a shooting last summer.