Wisconsin
Family of woman murdered, dismembered after date in Wisconsin notified about severed arm found at Waukegan Beach
The family of a 19-year-old woman who was murdered and dismembered after a date in Wisconsin has been notified after a severed arm was discovered at the Waukegan Beach.
The Waukegan Police Department responded around 8 p.m. Saturday to the Waukegan Municipal Beach, 201 East Sea Horse Drive.
A person walking along the beach saw what they believed to be a human arm on the ground.
Officers arrived and found the arm next to a fallen tree trunk at the beach.
The Lake County Coroner’s Office was notified and responded to the scene.
They confirmed the arm belonged to a human. The right arm was “mostly intact” from the shoulder down, according to Lake County Chief Deputy Coroner Steve Newton.
The arm was transported to the coroner’s office where a forensic pathologist conducted an exam of it on Monday.
Newton said a forensic anthropologist has been requested to perform a further study.
The arm is believed to be from a female. The forensic anthropologist will determine the age and gender of the victim, Newton said.
The coroner’s office said they are also working with a police department in a neighboring state on the investigation.
The police department’s crime lab is in the process of collecting DNA specimens from the arm for analysis.
According to FOX6 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the family of Sade Robinson was notified by investigators on Sunday about the discovery of the arm. The DNA testing is still pending.
The Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office said last month that Robinson, 19, was murdered and dismembered around April 2.
A criminal complaint filed by the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office said Maxwell S. Anderson, 33, of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, intentionally killed Robinson, mutilated her remains and set fire to her car in an attempt to obscure potential evidence of the killing.
Robinson met up with Anderson for a first date on the evening of April 1 at the Twisted Fisherman restaurant in Milwaukee before she went missing, the complaint said.
The two were seen at the bar inside the restaurant eating and having drinks together before leaving just over an hour later.
The complaint said a severed human leg was later discovered at Warnimont Park in Cudahy, Wisconsin.
A severed human foot was later located in a wooded area near 31st Street and Galena in Milwaukee.
Both body parts were believed to belong to Robinson based on investigators’ analysis, according to the complaint. Other body parts were also discovered in separate locations in Milwaukee.
Anderson was charged with first-degree intentional homicide, mutilating a corpse and arson.
Robinson’s family has continued to search for her remains. “The family is still actively searching and just wants closure and this to be able to move forward quickly,” said Dee-Dee Davis, an activist who has been working with the family, FOX6 reported.
Wisconsin
Southeast Wisconsin weather: Snow wrapping up, breezes moving in
The snow is starting to sink south this morning bringing this impressive system to an end for some. There will be the chance for lake-effect snow showers right along the lakefront through this morning as colder air wraps in from the northeast, which could keep roads messy through the morning. Overall, the heaviest bands of snow set up over Dodge, Washington, and Ozaukee counties, where we expect some of the highest snowfall totals to come from as things come to a close.
Skies will start to clear as we get into the afternoon, but winds will pick up as well as the low-pressure system departs. Winds will gust as high as 25 to 30 mph and temperatures will start to tumble this evening. Highs today will sit in the lower 30s falling into the lower teens tonight with wind chills in the single digits.
Things will be a little chilly on Saturday but not a bad day for some winter activities with highs in the mid-20s and a mix of sun and clouds. Expect low 30s on Sunday with mostly cloudy skies as we round out the weekend. A warm up then heads our way towards Christmas with a light mix of rain/snow Monday morning.
FRIDAY: Snow Ends, AM Lake-Effect Near Lake, Breezy & Clearing SkiesHigh: 34
Wind: N 10-20 G 30 mph
TONIGHT: Mostly Clear, Chilly (Wind Chill: Single Digits)
Low: 15
Wind: NNW 10-15 mph
SATURDAY: Partly Cloudy
High: 24
SUNDAY: Mostly Cloudy
High: 31
MONDAY: AM Mix Chance, Mostly Cloudy
High: 38
TUESDAY: Mostly Cloudy
High: 38
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Wisconsin
Teacher from Kennesaw killed in Wisconsin school shooting
Erin West, 42, graduated in 2005 with a degree in early childhood education. She was one of the people who died in a school shooting in Madison, Wisconsin.
Wisconsin
Funerals set for teacher and student killed in Wisconsin school shooting
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Funerals have been set for the student and teacher who were shot and killed by at 15-year-old at a religious school in Wisconsin, while police on Thursday pursued their investigation into the motive.
Abundant Life Christian School student Rubi Patricia Vergara, 14, of Madison and teacher Erin West, 42, of DeForest were killed in the attack Monday. Police say student Natalie “Samantha” Rupnow killed herself at the school and died at a Madison hospital. Two other students who were shot remained hospitalized Thursday in critical condition.
Vergara’s funeral was set for Saturday at City Church, which is adjacent to the school, and West’s funeral is Monday at Doxa Church in Madison, where she was a member, according to obituaries published Wednesday and Thursday.
West had worked at the school for four years and is the mother of three daughters, according to her obituary. She enjoyed camping with family, attending school sporting events, serving at Doxa Church and spending time with her daughters and the rest of her family, the obituary said.
“ALCS is a better school for the work of Erin West,” the school said in a statement.
West worked three years as a substitute teacher before accepting a staff position as the sub coordinator and in-building substitute teacher, according to the statement.
“She served our teachers and students with grace, humor, wisdom, and — most importantly — with the love of Jesus,” the school said. “Her loss is a painful and deep one and she will be greatly missed not just among our staff, but our entire ALCS family.”
Vergara was a freshman at the school and “an avid reader, loved art, singing and playing keyboard in the family worship band,” according to her obituary.
The school described her as gentle and loving.
“Rubi was a blessing to her class and our school,” the school said. “She was not only a good friend, but a great big sister. Often seen with a book in hand, she had a gift for art and music.”
Attempts to obtain comment from relatives of West and Vergara have been unsuccessful.
The shooter brought two guns to the school. A man in California told authorities he had been messaging her about attacking a government building with a gun and explosives, according to a restraining order issued against him Tuesday under California’s gun red flag law. The order required the 20-year-old Carlsbad man to turn his guns and ammunition in to police within 48 hours, but it’s unclear Thursday whether he complied, would be charged or was in custody.
The order didn’t say what building he had targeted or when he planned to launch his attack. It also didn’t detail his interactions with Rupnow except to state that the man was plotting a mass shooting with her.
A spokesperson for the Carlsbad Police Department said federal authorities were leading the investigation and “we do not believe there is a threat to our city.”
Police, with the assistance of the FBI, were scouring online records and other resources and speaking with the shooter’s parents and classmates in an attempt to determine a motive, Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes said on Wednesday.
Police don’t know if anyone was targeted or if the attack had been planned in advance, the chief said.
While Rupnow had two handguns, Barnes said he does not know how she obtained them and he declined to say who purchased them, citing the ongoing investigation.
No decisions have been made about whether Rupnow’s parents might be charged, but they have been cooperating, Barnes said.
Online court records show no criminal cases against her father, Jeffrey Rupnow, or her mother, Mellissa Rupnow. They are divorced and shared custody of their daughter, but she primarily lived with her father, according to court documents.
Abundant Life is a nondenominational Christian school of about 420 students that offers prekindergarten classes through high school.
Adam Rostad, who lives near Madison, went to ALCS from kindergarten through high school. His grandfather was pastor of the church that helped establish the school and his mother and aunt both worked there.
Rostad said Thursday that even though he graduated about 20 years ago and doesn’t even consider himself a “church person” any longer, ALCS is family.
He has collected a list of about 440 people who are eager to either cook meals or buy gift cards for those affected, and is coordinating with the school and church to make sure that’s the best way to help.
“Bullets don’t really care what your faith is, or if you have one,” Rostad said. “They really don’t.”
___
Associated Press writers Giovanna Dell’Orto in Minneapolis and Ryan J. Foley in Iowa City, Iowa, contributed to this report.
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