MILWAUKEE — A family friend of a 99-year-old Milwaukee woman who waited nearly three hours for a 911 response after a brutal attack inside her home is speaking for the first time with TMJ4 News — and asking the community for help as the woman continues a challenging recovery.
Julie Callahan has known the family of 99-year-old Shirley for two decades. She says it still baffles her what happened during the July 27 attack inside Shirley's South Side Milwaukee home.
TMJ4 News reporter Ryan Jenkins has her story in the video below:
"He was there beating her, hurting her, injuring her for three long hours," Callahan said.
Twenty-three-year-old Joseph Macias is accused of breaking into Shirley's home and beating her.
City records show the first emergency call came from Shirley's medical alert system into dispatch at 5:16 a.m. the morning of the attack. But an investigation revealed a dispatcher misclassified that call with a lower priority level.
The attack continued, and Shirley pressed her medical alert button again a short time later. Officers did not respond until 8:23 a.m. — after Shirley crawled to the phone and dialed 911 herself — nearly three hours after her first request for help.
"He completely changed her life," Callahan said.
Macias is charged with felony battery to an elderly person, among other felonies. Two of the dispatchers involved have since resigned. A third has since been retrained.
Callahan tells TMJ4's Ryan Jenkins that the once-independent woman who lived alone — running to the grocery store and doctor's appointments with the help of family — will never be the same.
"She walked with a walker; she was able to get around, she was able to do her daily cares. She's in a wheelchair now. And she is not going to be able to go back and live independently," Callahan said.
From the intensive care unit to physical rehabilitation, bills are piling up. Callahan says Shirley will soon need to move into assisted living.
"It is just absolutely horrifying. Every day is a challenge. Every. Single. Day," Callahan said.
Callahan has started a GoFundMe for Shirley and her family. She says any dollar amount can help, and that donors have the option to lower the suggested percentage that goes to GoFundMe if that is a deterrent to giving to online campaigns.
"She literally would be like your poster grandma. Like, if you had a poster of the most beautiful women, it's her," Callahan said.
Click HERE to access the GoFundMe Julie set up for Shirley and her family. You can also scan the QR code.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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