Inset (left): Samare Heard (Facebook). Inset (right): Christopher Taper in a mug shot from 2023 (Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office). Background: The house in Milwaukee, Wis., where Samare Heard was found dead (Google Maps).
Police in Wisconsin are looking for a man who allegedly left an 11-year-old boy alone after the boy shot himself in the head.
Christopher Taper, 44, was charged with neglecting a child with a consequence of death after police said he was in charge of watching 11-year-old Samare Heard, the son of his longtime girlfriend, Jamie Campbell. In an interview with local Fox affiliate WITI, Campbell said she had just left for work a little after 9 p.m. on Aug. 17 when she got a frantic call from Taper, who reportedly told her that Samare had shot himself.
According to a criminal complaint reviewed by Law&Crime, Campbell called her sister at 9:37 p.m. and asked her to head over to the house. When Campbell's sister arrived, she was "shocked" that there were no emergency vehicles or police cars at the home. Police said "it appeared that nobody called 911."
Campbell's sister called 911 when she got to the house and told first responders what Taper allegedly told Campbell. Officers and emergency responders arrived at 9:44 p.m. and found Samare "unconscious and not breathing" on the floor of the living room. They attempted lifesaving measures, but the boy was pronounced dead at the scene. He had a single gunshot wound in the middle of his forehead, and a Taurus G3 9 mm handgun was found near his feet.
Police said Taper "left the residence" and left Samare "to die alone" without calling 911. He did not answer his phone.
Campbell's sister told police that she could not believe Taper "left him to die alone." Taper had been dating Campbell for six years and was living with her. Campbell often left Samare in Taper's care when she went to her third-shift job.
When police spoke to Campbell, she said she knew Taper was a convicted felon who sometimes carried a gun. She told police he kept the gun in a "black bookbag." Campbell's sister told police at the scene that Taper was "unemployed and sells drugs to make money." According to the complaint, Taper has an open case from 2023 and is charged with possession with intent to deliver THC, possession with intent to deliver fentanyl, and possession with intent to deliver methamphetamine.
Taper is charged with neglect of a child resulting in death, felony possession of a firearm, and two counts of bail jumping.
In her interview with WITI, Campbell begged Taper to turn himself in to police, saying, "[Y]ou have to do the right thing. If you love us and you love my baby."