Teen mom killed in Milwaukee, father of child charged

MILWAUKEE - Milwaukee County prosecutors charged a teen after the mother of his child was shot and killed in January.

Jveon Clark, 17, is charged with second-degree reckless homicide and possession of a firearm by a felon in the case. Court records show his bond was set at $40,000 last month. He pleaded not guilty and was bound over for trial on March 19.

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28th and Atkinson

The backstory:

Police were called to a home near 28th and Atkinson on Jan. 22. A criminal complaint states the victim, 17-year-old Zaniyah Booker, was found shot in an upstairs bedroom and pronounced dead at the scene.

Investigation near 28th and Atkinson, Milwaukee

Court filings said a witness told police she was downstairs when she heard a loud bang and saw a group of people – one of whom was Clark – run out of the back door of the house. The witness then went upstairs and saw Booker. 

Officers canvassed the area and found a gun in a garbage can less than a block away, per the complaint.

The investigation

What they're saying:

Detectives interviewed several people who knew Clark and Booker.

According to court filings, one person said Clark's bedroom was on the second floor of the home where Booker was shot. He said he was listening to music when he heard a scream, went upstairs and saw Booker had been shot. He said Clark and Booker had a child together and were "in a happy relationship."

Zaniya Booker

Prosecutors said another person told detectives she got a phone call from Clark after Booker was shot. In that call, she said Clark told her: "Listen, we were recording, playing and the gun accidentally went off. I killed Zariah [sic], she's in my room. My life is over with. Listen, it was an accident."

A third person said a person called them and identified himself as Booker's "baby daddy," per the complaint. The person knew Booker had one child with someone named "Jveon." During the call, the "baby daddy" told her that a gun went off and hit Booker.

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After that phone call, the complaint states a fourth person then called "Jveon" – who he knew to be the father of Booker's child – and the person who answered "had the same voice" as the person in the previous phone call. The person believed to be Clark said Booker was putting a round into the gun when he took the gun from her and pulled the trigger, striking Booker.

In custody

What they're saying:

Court filings said Clark turned himself in on Feb. 10. Detectives interviewed him, and the complaint states he said he and Booker were the only people in the room when the gun went off. He said he tried to take the gun apart and, when he racked the slide, his hand was on the trigger and it went off. He also said it was an accident and he "would never do anything to intentionally hurt her," per the complaint. 

Dig deeper:

The complaint states Clark was convicted of felony fleeing in July 2024.

Editor's note: Official records have spelled Booker's first name multiple ways. While FOX6 News has used a previous spelling of Zaniya, it is now using Zaniyah in alignment with a GoFundMe set up by her family.