Inset: Tavarris Jones (Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office). Background: The area in Milwaukee where Jones allegedly killed the mother of his children (Google Maps).
A 41-year-old man in Wisconsin is accused of fatally shooting the mother of his four children, allegedly taunting her for cheating on him and leaving the body for her kids to find.
Tavarris Jones was taken into custody and charged with one count of first-degree intentional homicide with modifiers for domestic abuse inflicting physical injury and use of a dangerous weapon, court records show.
According to a probable cause affidavit obtained by Law&Crime, officers with the Milwaukee Police Department responded to a home in the 5800 block of North 77th Street at 2:38 a.m. on Oct. 10 for a reported shooting.
The 911 caller said, "My momma got shot," and told the dispatcher there was "blood on her mother's nose and body."
"She went on to state she heard two gunshots and that her mother was not breathing and was warm to the touch," police wrote. "The caller said that it was serious bleeding from her nose and was running down her chest and onto the couch."
The same child answered the door when first responders arrived. Inside, they found the child's mother, who appeared to have suffered multiple gunshot wounds. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
The victim's daughter told investigators she was sleeping when what sounded like gunshots coming from inside the home woke her up.
"Initially [the child] was too scared to leave the bedroom, but eventually went to check on her mother," the affidavit states. "She located her mother and thought she was deceased due to seeing a large amount of blood on her and the fact she could not awaken her."
The medical examiner determined that the victim suffered gunshot wounds to the right side of her head, her left temple and the left side of her neck. Two brass shell casings were found near the body.
Speaking to police at the scene, the child allegedly said that her mother's live-in boyfriend, whom she identified as Jones, had been at the house with the father of another child and that both men left around 1:50 a.m. She also provided footage of the two men leaving, the affidavit states.
The child then spoke to investigators at the police station and clarified that Jones was not her father, but was the father of her four younger siblings.
The child said that on the night her mother was killed, the victim had gone on a date "with a man who was not Jones." The child did not hear her mom come home from the date because she was asleep. When she woke up, her younger sister allegedly told her Jones was at the house and had instructed the younger sister to stay in her room. Police said the younger sister was 9 years old.
"[The child] initially thought her mom just had a nose bleed when she saw her, but quickly realized it was not as she was tapping on her to get her to respond," the affidavit states. "She noticed her mom was not breathing."
While the child told police that Jones resided in the house with her, her mom and her siblings, she noted that her mother had recently taken the house keys away from Jones.
The 9-year-old told police she had been in bed when she saw her dad "taking the air conditioner out of the window, so it was 'all the way open.'" She then allegedly watched the shooting on a camera in the home. From the affidavit:
She said she saw Jones shoot her mother. Jones said "that's what you get for cheating on me…you not gonna cheat on me no more cus you dead" after that Jones left. She clarified that the person who shot her mom was her dad. She did say she does not know her dad's name, she just calls him "dad."
Jones is currently being held in the Milwaukee County Jail on $500,000 bond, records show. He is scheduled to appear in court for a hearing on Dec. 17.