Ralph RJ Taylor III was a 4-year-old boy who was shot and killed inside his family’s apartment in Milwaukee on the night of July 10, 2025. Police were called shortly after 9:30 p.m. to a third-floor unit on North 75th Street; officers found Ralph critically wounded near the bedroom doorway and he was pronounced dead at the scene. Investigators concluded the initial account given by his father, Ralph Taylor Jr., did not match the physical evidence.

According to the complaint, Taylor first claimed a bullet entered through an open window and that no guns were in the residence. He later said the child had found a firearm under a pillow and accidentally fired it. Witnesses reported a volatile period earlier that day, including arguments, broken property, and Taylor grabbing Ralph and taking him upstairs; a gunshot followed about a minute after they entered the bedroom.

Criminal charges were brought against both parents. Ralph Taylor Jr. was convicted of first-degree intentional homicide and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon; he was later sentenced to life without the possibility of extended supervision. Casandra Taylor’s case resulted in a guilty plea to harboring or aiding a felon and a sentence that included five years of probation. Did anyone in the neighborhood know the Taylor family or see the apartment building on July 10, 2025?