BRISTOL, Wis. — A jury found a Kenosha County teen guilty of homicide in the killing of 15-year-old Kaylie Juga and the non-fatal shooting of her mother in May of 2019.
Martice Fuller, 17, was charged as an adult for first-degree intentional homicide, attempted first-degree intentional homicide and armed burglary. He pleaded not guilty to the charges.
A jury in Kenosha County Court found Fuller guilty of all counts Friday afternoon.
Prosecutors say Juga’s ex-boyfriend, Fuller, broke into her home and shot and killed her. She was listening to music in the bedroom at the time.
Juga’s mother says she was upstairs when she heard her daughter scream. She said in an interview in 2019 that she stood next to Fuller, while he was pointing a gun at her, and she said “You don’t have to do this.” He responded, “Yes I have to."
Both were 15 at the time.
The mother also told investigators she attempted to shut the door, but was shot several times by Fuller. She then locked herself in the bathroom and called 911.
Earlier in the week, Juga's mother, Stephanie, testified about her daughter.
"She had a huge heart," Juga said. "She was amazing. She always thought of everyone first before herself."
During his closing arguments, Kenosha County District Attorney Michael Graveley said evidence and witness testimony points to domestic violence.
"Because Kaylie Juga was controlled by this defendant, and then he was hurt by this defendant, Kaylie Juga was stalked by this defendant, and then Kaylie Juga murdered by this defendant," Graveley said. "And the Juga family, the Juga family here today is left broken."
Fuller was also charged with an additional battery by prisoners - party to a crime. A criminal complaint states that Fuller and three other inmates assaulted another inmate at Kenosha County Jail.
At trial, Fuller's defense attorney said memory and lack of DNA evidence could point to reasonable doubt.
"Stephanie Juga on the 911 call said it was Martice Fuller," Carl Johnson said in his closing arguments. "Police took that and they ran. They didn’t try and figure out, can we get some physical evidence, such as DNA, such as fingerprints just to be sure that that's right. But they heard that name, they got tunnel vision, and off we went."
Fuller is scheduled to be sentenced in May.
