MILWAUKEE — A 22-year-old man has been charged with first-degree intentional homicide in the death of a longtime Milwaukee teacher who family members remembered as someone who dedicated his life to helping others.
Daylan Mallard is accused of killing 56-year-old Harry Odele Bruce on Nov. 5 near 12th and Walnut streets on Milwaukee’s north side.
Family identifies 56-year-old Milwaukee teacher as victim of fatal assault:
According to a criminal complaint, prosecutors say Mallard attacked Bruce while Bruce was near a bus stop.
Milwaukee County
Family identifies 56-year-old Milwaukee teacher as victim of fatal assault
Officers responding to a report of a battery in progress found Bruce unconscious and not breathing, according to the complaint. Police began CPR before the Milwaukee Fire Department took over, but Bruce did not survive. Mallard was taken into custody at the scene.
Investigators say security video from a nearby apartment building captured part of the attack. According to the complaint, the video shows a person investigators identified as Mallard on top of Bruce and repeatedly punching him for several minutes. Investigators say Mallard then walked away before returning and attacking Bruce again.
A witness told police Bruce appeared unable to defend himself during the attack. The witness said Bruce was crying and asking for help before eventually becoming unresponsive, according to the complaint.
The complaint says several people eventually intervened after a woman alerted people at a nearby restaurant that someone was being attacked. One witness told investigators that he and two friends confronted Mallard. Another said he performed CPR on Bruce after the attack stopped.
An autopsy determined Bruce died from multiple blunt-force injuries to the head and neck and manual strangulation. His death was ruled a homicide.
The charge marks a significant development in a case that began last week when Milwaukee police announced a 56-year-old man had died following an assault.
Bruce’s sons, Kylon and Lorenzo Boothes, previously told TMJ4 their father had spent more than a decade teaching at Roosevelt Middle School. They said he was headed to the bus stop that evening to go help someone move.
Milwaukee Public Schools previously described Bruce as a beloved special education teacher who served Roosevelt students not only as an educator but also as a football coach, tutor and mentor.
His sons remembered him as a father, minister, coach and author who centered his life around helping others.
“The life he lived is not about him at all,” Kylon previously told TMJ4. “He always worked to help everybody else, and it made himself happy.”
Lorenzo said Bruce was not his or his brother’s biological father but raised both of them as his own.
“Growing up with my dad was amazing,” Lorenzo said. “He took on a responsibility that he didn’t have to, and I will always be grateful for that.”
Mallard faces life imprisonment if convicted of first-degree intentional homicide.
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