Inset (left): Tavarris Jones (Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office). Inset (right): Kazzie Ference (GoFundMe). Background: The home in Milwaukee, Wis., where Kazzie Ference was killed (Google Maps).
A Wisconsin man allegedly shot his estranged girlfriend to death after she went on a date.
Tavarris Jones, 41, was charged with first-degree intentional homicide with modifiers for using a deadly weapon and domestic violence after police said he fatally shot his estranged girlfriend, 42-year-old Kazzie Ference, on Oct. 10. According to a criminal complaint reviewed by Law&Crime, police responded to a 911 call placed at 2:36 a.m. reporting a shooting at Ference's Milwaukee home. Officers arriving at the home found Ference dead of multiple gunshot wounds.
Several young children were also in the home, including the former couple's 9-year-old daughter.
Police spoke to one of Ference's other children, who told officers that she was asleep when she heard two gunshots. She told police she was too scared to leave her room at first, but eventually went to check on her mother. The girl could not wake her mother and told police she believed her mother was dead because of the large amount of blood.
After finding her mother, the girl called 911 and told dispatchers, "My momma got shot."
The same child told police that Jones, who lived with them, left at 1:50 a.m. She provided video evidence that showed Jones leaving the home.
During an interview with police, the child said Ference went on a date with another man on the night of Oct. 9. Ference came home while the girl was sleeping in her mother's bedroom. The girl's little sister, the 9-year-old, also entered the room "shaking a camera." While both girls were in the room, they heard the two gunshots.
The older child said Ference had taken away Jones' keys to the home. She clarified to police that Jones was not her father, but he was the father of the other four children who lived in the home, including the 9-year-old girl.
When police spoke to the 9-year-old, she said she saw Jones in the home, and he told her to stay in the bedroom. The previous day, she said she heard Jones and Ference arguing, and Ference told Jones, "he had to get out of her house."
According to the complaint, the 9-year-old saw Jones holding a gun to her mother's head. After he allegedly shot her, the girl told police he said, "That what you get for cheat[ing] on me… You not gonna cheat on me no more [because] you dead." Jones then allegedly left the home.
A GoFundMe started by one of Ference's eight children said she was a mother and a grandmother who died in a "senseless act of domestic violence." They are seeking support for the children, including one with special needs, and for funeral expenses.
Jones is currently in custody at the Milwaukee County Jail, where he is being held on a $500,000 cash bond. His next court date is scheduled for Oct. 20.