A Wisconsin man accused of fatally shooting six people–and then taking a selfie with some of their bodies as his background—has been charged with six counts of felony murder stemming from an armed robbery gone bad.
Photos on a cellphone belonging to Travis Birkley, 34, appear to show him in January wearing a pair of distinctive eyeglasses that belonged to his alleged fourth victim, Donta Williams, for the morbid self-portrait.
All victims died from a single gunshot wound to the head.
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“The Defendant took a photo of himself in what appeared to be the basement where three dead bodies were later located,” according to the police complaint seen by various news outlets. In the complaint, officers say that he was wearing Williams’ glasses after he allegedly shot him in the upstairs unit.
The bodies of six people were found in a multi-residence house in Milwaukee owned by victims Donta and Michelle Williams, one day after one woman—who might have also been a victim—called 911 and said she had been shot in the head, according to police reports. Officers who followed up on the report did not find the address reported in the original 911 call.
Responding to a wellness check, officers found the Williams’ bodies on the first floor after reports that they had not been answering their phone. After calling for backup, police found the bodies of Charles Hardy, Caleb Jordan, and Jovini Liddel in the in the basement apartment. Police then found another victim, Donald Smith, beneath a pile of clothing in a second-floor bedroom.
According to a police report cited in several publications, Birkley’s cousin admitted that the two men were planning to rob Donta Williams after arranging a meeting to buy narcotics. Williams’ wife then apparently surprised the men, which led them to first shoot her, and then him. The noise then apparently caught the attention of others in the building, who the men then “had to shoot” either because they were also potentially armed or could potentially be witnesses. Smith, according to the report, was shot while coming toward them with a handgun.
Police found 10 cellphones at the crime scene. Many of the other phones had messages that appear to be related to potential drug deals, including one message that read “U still up if so buy a blunt and a cigarette,” referring to traditional vessels for cannabis. Police said they used cell-tower data to identify Birkley as a potential suspect, because a phone belonging to him was allegedly caught on several cell towers at the same time activity stopped on all six of the victims’ devices.
One witness interviewed in the investigation also said that on the day after the murders, Birkley was seen with a type of synthetic marijuana known as K2 that Donta Williams allegedly frequently sold, according to the police complaint.
Police also found 10 shell casings from two different weapons on the property, leading them to believe there may have been a second shooter. No one else has yet been taken into custody.
