Two Wisconsin parents are in jail after the father put a gun to his 4-year-old son’s mouth and pulled the trigger, using a firearm purchased by the boy’s mother because her husband is a felon, police say.
Ralph Michael Taylor Jr., 35, is charged with first-degree intentional homicide and possession of a firearm, while Casandra Taylor is accused of child neglect and straw purchasing a firearm.
The incident occurred on July 10 at a home in Milwaukee’s 9100 block of N. 75th Street. According to a probable cause arrest affidavit obtained by Law&Crime, officers arrived at the scene to find several people screaming for help and reporting that a child had been shot. Cops rushed up to a third-floor bedroom, where they discovered the boy unconscious in a pool of blood. Lifesaving efforts were futile, and paramedics declared the boy dead.
Ralph Taylor was in the room with his son, who has not been publicly identified other than the initials “RT” in the complaint. According to the affidavit, he initially claimed to be in the bedroom, talking on the phone with his son playing on the bed, when a bullet entered the window from outside and struck the boy. Ralph Taylor also allegedly claimed there were no guns in the house, but further investigation revealed the father “lied about all of the surrounding circumstances” of his son’s death, according to the affidavit.
According to the affidavit, cops discovered that his wife assisted him in covering his tracks.
A neighbor told police she was in her home when her children ran inside, claiming they had heard a gunshot. She looked at her Ring camera and saw Casandra Taylor yelling, “My son, my son, somebody shot my son through the window!” Casandra Taylor allegedly approached the neighbor with a purse, but she refused to accept it because she was concerned about a gun inside. Casandra Taylor then reportedly gave the purse to another neighbor, who discovered a gun inside, though it was not the one used in the shooting, according to police.
A third neighbor rushed to the boy and began performing CPR, allegedly hearing Ralph Taylor say, “I’ve got to hide my guns.”
According to police, Casandra Taylor’s 12-year-old son helped them discover the truth. The boy allegedly told detectives that his mother owns two guns, one of which his stepfather kept in the room where his brother died. The stepson revealed that Ralph Taylor has a “long history of domestic violence” against his mother. The boy also reportedly told police that Ralph Taylor “becomes physically and verbally abusive” after drinking alcohol.
According to the affidavit, Ralph Taylor accused his stepson of taking the PlayStation 4 video game system that morning. Ralph Taylor allegedly told his wife during the day that he “has something for her” and that “she will see.” He also allegedly broke her laptop before entering the living room, grabbing the 4-year-old boy by the arm, and dragging him to the bedroom, according to police reports.
A man who had been living in the house claimed that when Ralph Taylor grabbed the boy and led him into the bedroom, he said, “He’s with me. I’m not letting him go. “He’s my kid.”
Ralph Taylor had only been in the room with the boy for a minute or two when his stepson reported hearing a single gunshot.
According to the affidavit, an autopsy determined that the father placed the gun in his son’s mouth and pulled the trigger.
Casandra Taylor knocked on the bedroom door for several minutes, but her husband refused to let her in, according to police. He eventually let her in, and the family discovered the boy lying in a pool of blood, according to the affidavit.
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Police discovered the alleged murder weapon wrapped in two plastic bags in a plastic storage container hidden in a closet, according to the affidavit. Ralph Taylor apparently admitted that it was his gun.
When confronted with the admission of the gun and the fact that the boy could not have sustained the wound he did as a result of an outside shot, Ralph Taylor changed his story, according to the complaint. He then claimed he and his son were on the bed when the boy grabbed the gun and shot himself. Cops knew by this point that he was “completely lying,” according to the affidavit.
According to the affidavit, the 4-year-old “has moderate to severe autism” and “often communicates through song.”
After receiving Miranda warnings, Casandra Taylor allegedly told detectives that she owns two guns, one of which her husband took and “would not give back.” However, she later admitted that detectives would find text messages in which her husband sent her photos of guns he wanted her to buy because he was a convicted felon, according to the affidavit. She allegedly claimed that the more than 200 rounds of ammunition discovered in the home were entirely hers.
She informed detectives that her husband is a convicted felon.
“I know I am going to get into trouble for that,” she allegedly said.
She also told cops that she would not let a babysitter who was drinking and had a firearm watch her son, but she let her husband do so.
Casandra Taylor is in Milwaukee County Jail on a $5,000 bond. Her next court date is scheduled for July 24. Ralph Taylor is in jail with a $500,000 bond.
