MILWAUKEE, Wis. — A Milwaukee family is still in shock nearly a week after Kazzie Ference, a 44-year-old mother of eight, was shot and killed in her home near 77th and Carmen early Saturday morning.
Prosecutors say her boyfriend, 41-year-old Tavarris Jones, shot and killed her. Court records show Jones became upset that Ference was on a date with another man at the time of the shooting.
Prosecutors say they spoke to the children who were present at the time of the murder. Court records show one child said she witnessed the shooting and heard Jones say, "That what you get for cheat on me" and "you not gonna cheat on me no more cus you dead."
"For this to happen to her is like it's very tragic because she was an amazing person, it's crazy," Michael Mosley, a cousin of Ference said.
She was a daughter, a cousin, a mother, and a grandmother. Messages on her memorial offer a glimpse of who she was to those who loved her. Family members say she had her master's degree, earned her home, and was a positive person.
"The reality of it, when it gets so close to home I think for days were just like did this happen?" Ebony Ford, Ference's cousin, said. "A bubbly person, I don't ever remember her frowning, I can't remember a moment of her being angry or hostile," Ford said.
Ference's family is calling for more to be done to prevent future domestic violence homicides.
According to End Domestic Abuse Wisconsin, last year there were 61 domestic violence homicide victims statewide, down from 71 the year prior but still up from 54 in 2023.
"There's a huge gap in support there has to be something done, whether that's being more proactive in the situation," Ford said.
Ference was at least the second domestic violence homicide victim in Milwaukee this month.
"The only thing she did was love the wrong man, she backed him up for twelve years until she feel like she couldn't do it no more," Kim Matlock, Ference's aunt, said.
Jones is facing a first-degree homicide charge, which in Wisconsin comes with a mandatory life sentence. Ford tells me, while nothing can bring Ference back, they are hoping for the maximum.
"I don't know that there is any even small bit of justice that can measure up to the life that's been taken away," Ford said.
The family has started a GoFundMe. Ference was the caretaker of her eight children and her mother.
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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