A Wisconsin woman is charged with first-degree murder after allegedly killing a man she had recently met online, by stabbing him then intentionally running him over, after which she circled the block and ran down the victim again “to make sure he was dead,” according to a criminal complaint filed in Milwaukee County Circuit Court.
Lydia Carmona-Cartagena, 23, appeared in court Monday on charges of first-degree intentional homicide and use of a dangerous weapon. The five-foot-tall Carmona-Cartagena has been arrested previously for felony domestic abuse, and remains jailed on $100,000 cash bond. She faces life in prison if convicted of the new charges.
The gruesome incident occurred in the early hours of Dec. 9, the complaint states. Shortly after 5:45 a.m., a witness identified in the filing only as “JH” got out of the shower and heard yelling outside.
When JH looked out the window, she saw Carmona-Cartagena “tussling” with 41-year-old Chad Wilson, the complaint states. JH said it initially looked like Wilson was on top of Carmona-Cartagena, hitting her, but she realized things were the other way around when she observed Carmona-Cartagena “pulling [Wilson] and dragging him.”
Man Confesses to Murdering Ex-Girlfriend on Livestream Before Killing Ex-Wife and Himself
Carmona-Cartagena later told police she and Wilson met on Facebook a week or two earlier, according to the complaint. They got together for the first time on Dec. 8 and spent “approximately 24 hours” together, the complaint explains, which says that “while hanging out, they drank some alcohol and did drugs, including cocaine.”
But somewhere along the line, things took a dark turn.
At Wilson’s house, Carmona-Cartagena “was putting a lighter and cups on the tables which angered [Wilson],” says the complaint. “She did not like that he was being aggressive, so she asked him to drive her home.”
On the way, Wilson stopped and told her to get out, the complaint alleges. Carmona-Cartagena “was not happy because she had a big bag of clothing that she would have to carry home,” it says. She then took a knife out of her purse, chased Wilson across the street, and allegedly “stabbed him 3 times [in] the legs and abdomen” before Wilson was able to get the knife away from Carmona-Cartagena.
As Wilson was screaming for help, Carmona-Cartagena “walked over and kicked [him] in the face while he was on the ground ‘like a dog,’” JH told detectives, explaining that Carmona-Cartagena then got into Wilson’s black Cadillac SUV and “drove at [Wilson]…seemingly trying to hit him with the car,” states the complaint. Wilson managed to hide behind a tree, according to JH, who estimated Carmona-Cartagena hit Wilson with the car “three or four times.”
“JH said that [Carmona-Cartagena] then drove around the block and hit [Wilson] again,” says the complaint. “JH described multiple times that [Carmona-Cartagena] ran over [Wilson], even after driving around the block or through neighbors’ yards. JH said that ultimately she saw [Carmona-Cartagena] run over [Wilson]’s neck and head.”
Milwaukee County Circuit Court
JH then saw Carmona-Cartagena standing over Wilson, saying something to him, according to the complaint. She “left when sirens started,” and fled the scene by driving off into a nearby alleyway.
Another witness, identified in the complaint as “TP,” told detectives she left her house around 6:05 a.m. and “saw something in the street that she initially thought was an animal.”
“TP had to swerve around the object and saw that it was a human body,” says the complaint. TP pulled over and called 911. While she was on the phone, TP said she saw a black SUV coming up from behind her and tried to stop the driver from hitting Wilson’s body again. Carmona-Cartagena then got out of the vehicle and stood over the body “without saying a word,” looked at TP, and drove away, according to the complaint.
Both eyewitness accounts were backed up by surveillance video from a nearby church, the complaint states.
Wilson was pronounced dead by the Milwaukee Fire Department at 6:24 a.m. “due to injuries from being run over by [the] vehicle,” says the complaint.
Detectives mounted a search for the SUV, which they eventually located about a block away, in Carmona-Cartagena’s driveway. She was sitting inside the car, which “had accident damage and blood on the front passenger side headlight and grill [sic],” according to the complaint.
Officers placed Carmona-Cartagena under arrest, after which she made “several unsolicited statements,” the complaint continues.
“I know why I hit him, for my safety, but I was hoping that he was still ok,” Carmona-Cartagena told first responders, claiming she ran over Wilson because “he was going to pull a gun on her.”
Carmona-Cartagena allegedly admitted grabbing Wilson’s car keys as he lay bleeding on the ground, then getting back into his SUV, and driving towards him.
“She stated that she missed a couple of times and was finally able to hit him in the street,” according to the complaint. “She saw he was still moving after she ran him over the first time, so she ran him over a few more times to make sure he was dead. She stated she ran him over the first time to kill him. She knew that she had numerous opportunities to just drive away, but she thought he was a gang member and had access to guns and would come and retaliate.”
After allegedly killing Wilson, who was described by local NBC affiliate WTMJ as a community advocate involved in helping formerly incarcerated people reintegrate into society, the complaint says Carmona-Cartagena told police she walked up to Wilson “and knew he was dead so she leaned over and closed his eyes. She then left the scene when she heard the sirens getting closer. She drove to her residence and a squad pulled up at her house a short time later.”
An autopsy determined Wilson’s death to be homicide caused by blunt force trauma. His family was unable to be reached on Tuesday.
Carmona-Cartagena’s public defender, Vincent Paul Guimont, did not immediately respond to The Daily Beast’s request for comment. Carmona-Cartagena is due back in court for a preliminary hearing on Dec. 23.
Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!
Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
