MILWAUKEE — A 23-year-old Milwaukee woman was charged with first intentional homicide - use of a dangerous weapon for running a man over with a car and killing him last week, prosecutors say.
Investigators say Lydia Nini Carmona-Cartagena ran over and killed the 41-year-old man early last Thursday at North 60th and West Stark in Milwaukee.
The Milwaukee County Medical Examiner has identified the man as Chad Wilson.
Wilson's family said they do not have a statement at this time.
People who knew Wilson say he was part of several local organizations which helped people in the criminal justice system get back on their feet. He was featured in the 2016 documentary MILWAUKEE 53206.
"I can't really say where I'll be in five to ten years, I can say I'm going to work hard to get further than I am right now," Wilson can be heard saying in the documentary trailer.
He often spoke about how he turned his life around after his time in the criminal justice system.
TMJ4 News spoke to Wilson for a story back in 2017.
A criminal complaint released Monday states first responders and police were called to the scene and pronounced Wilson dead. Witnesses told officers where the black 2011 Cadillac SUV used to allegedly hit him with was. That's where officers found the vehicle with Carmona-Cartagena inside. Officers say the vehicle had blood on the headlights and grill.
The complaints states she responded to officers' questioning by saying, “I know why I hit him, for my safety, but I was hoping that he was still ok. That’s just the kind of person I am, but I 100% refuse because I am 23 years old and I have a two year old at home and there’s no way you guys should be able to force me to go to a doctor when I’m feeling completely fine."
A witness told investigators they saw the man and the woman fighting. At one point the woman seemed to be pulling Wilson, and later kicked the man in he face while he was on the ground "like a dog," the complaint states.
The witness said the woman got in a vehicle and drove at him. The witness said the woman missed a few times but then hit him with the vehicle as many as four times. The witness said they saw the woman driving over his neck and head, the complaint states.
The witness identified a photo of Carmona-Cartagena as the woman.
A second witness said they saw her standing over the body several times, then driving away.
The complaint states surveillance video from a nearby church showed parts of the homicide. At one point Wilson is on the ground when the woman started to drive towards him. But he got off the ground quickly and tried to run away. The SUV is seen turning and driving towards the man, but misses. Eventually the SUV rises and falls as it goes over the man, according to the complaint.
Later the video showed the woman getting out of the SUV and bending over the man. She then drives off, pulls into her home and then police approach, the complaint states.
In custody Carmona-Cartagena told investigators she met the victim over Facebook recently, but the day before the incident was the first time she hung out with him. She said they drank alcohol and did drugs including cocaine. She said he later became aggressive and she said she wanted to go home. On the way there he told her to get out of the vehicle. She said she pulled out a knife and stabbed him three times.
She continued she then went to the SUV and used it to run him over several times "to make sure he was dead," according to the complaint.
"She knew that she had numerous opportunities to just drive away, but she thought he was a gang member and had access to guns and would come and retaliate," the complaint states.
If found guilty Carmona-Cartagena could spend life in prison. Carmona-Cartagena attended her initial appearance on Monday.
Carmona-Cartagena is being held on a $100,000 cash bond and is due back for a preliminary hearing next Thursday.
