Diante L. Kilgore was a funny, fun-loving, and caring family man who was known as a great, hard-working friend. The 28-year-old Black man, a father to a son, had attended Montessori High School in his hometown of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Remembered by loved ones as someone who was cherished every day, his life was cut short in the summer of 2020.
In the pre-dawn hours of July 8, 2020, a confrontation unfolded outside a home in Milwaukee’s Washington Park neighborhood. According to a criminal complaint, two men and another individual arrived at a residence on the 2100 block of North 39th Street around 4:30 a.m. and attempted to push their way inside. Shortly after they arrived, Diante came to the house.
A witness told police that the two men, later identified as Jonathan E. Hayes and Willie A. Watson, then approached Diante outside the home. They allegedly pointed guns at him and removed property from his pockets, including a weapon.
The witness stated that Watson fired a gun once into the air. After the first shot, the witness turned away and then heard a second gunshot.
When police arrived, they found Diante suffering from a gunshot wound to his back. He did not survive his injuries. The investigation that followed led authorities to Hayes, then 24, and Watson, then 38. Both men admitted to police that they had been present during the incident.
Jonathan E. Hayes and Willie A. Watson were arrested and charged with felony murder in connection with Diante Kilgore’s death. Following their arrest, both men were held in the Milwaukee County Jail with bail set at $100,000. As of their charging in July 2020, the case against them was pending in the court system.
