Washington Park killing, rape; Milwaukee man gets 32 years in prison
MILWAUKEE -
A Milwaukee man convicted in the rape and killing of a woman in Washington Park was sentenced Thursday, Aug. 3, to 32 years in prison.
Kevin Spencer, 18, pleaded guilty in March to first-degree reckless homicide and second-degree sexual assault. He was also sentenced to 20 years of extended supervision.
Spencer's co-defendant, 19-year-old Kamare Lewis, was sentenced to 26 years in prison in June – convicted of the same two felonies.
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"These young men turning this victim's brain into mush – it's not an exaggeration," said Glenn Yamahiro.
Bystanders found the victim, Ee Lee, in Washington Park. She was still breathing but unconscious and undressed below the waist. A hospital examination confirmed the sexual assault. She died due to blunt force trauma to her head.
Ee Lee
"She was tortured by the most horrible people on this Earth. She died in a way no one would want to die," said Nancy Lee, the victim's sister.
A criminal complaint said the video showed five to six people potentially involved in the crime running from the area. It appeared Lee had been taken from a blanket to a tree, where the sexual assault occurred. She was then dragged to the edge of the pond and left for dead. Based on the video, investigators learned it was "probably teenage boys or young men associated with each other" who were involved.
A video from the Washington Park Library showed 11 people leaving the park. One was Lewis, prosecutors said.
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One of the bystanders who called 911 after finding Lee's body was determined to have actually been in the park during the assault, the complaint said, walking with several subjects, including Lewis and another person. When confronted with that information, prosecutors said the witness gave a "detailed statement" to indicate Lewis and the other person, identified as Spencer, beat Lee and forced her to perform sex acts. The witness said video was later viewed on Lewis's phone showing Lewis and Spencer hitting her as she lay on the ground.
The second person who found the body said he witnessed Lewis "hitting (Lee) with tree branches and punching her in the face" while Spencer also beat the victim. After the beating, he said, "Spencer told Kamare to put her in the water, and Kamare was dragging her to the water."
Kevin Spencer
The prosecuting attorney described the details of the victim's injuries, saying they are some of the most significant injuries the nurses had seen in their careers.
"He was perfectly fine raping a woman who was beaten to a pulp," said Sara Hill, the prosecutor.
"He's always been nice, always been appropriate with us," said Joel Morgen, a defense attorney.
Spencer did not speak in court, nor did any family members.