Ariel Spillner, 26, was shot and killed inside a residence at 5102 N. 39th Street near Lancaster Avenue on Milwaukee’s north side on the night of November 4, 2025. Milwaukee police found her unresponsive, face down near a sectional couch with a gunshot wound; the Milwaukee Fire Department pronounced her dead at about 9:52 p.m. The medical examiner determined the fatal wound entered the upper left chest, passed through both lungs, the left pulmonary artery and the aorta, and the projectile was recovered from the right lung.

Jamica Simone Mills, a friend who lived at the residence, was also shot in the abdomen and taken to Froedtert Hospital. Prosecutors say Mills at first gave varying accounts, then acknowledged firing the shot that killed Spillner, saying she became paranoid and believed Spillner might stab her. Investigators recovered a Ruger LCP .380-caliber handgun purchased in Mills’ name, two spent casings that matched the gun, .380 ammunition and bloodstained clothing associated with Mills; one garment showed evidence consistent with a close-range gunshot.

Prosecutors charged Mills with first-degree reckless homicide while using a dangerous weapon; bond was set at $150,000. A preliminary hearing in December 2025 found probable cause, and Mills pleaded not guilty at arraignment on January 9, 2026. An insanity evaluation did not support a special plea and the case continued. Concordia University Wisconsin awarded Spillner a pharmacy doctoral degree posthumously in May 2026. Anyone who knew Ariel or has information about what happened is asked to come forward.