Authorities say a Milwaukee drug den security guard murdered six people in the stash house he was meant to safeguard, then took a photo wearing one of the victims’ spectacles while others lay lifeless on the floor.
According to a criminal complaint, Travis Birkley, 34, the ‘house gun’ at Michelle and Donta Williams’ home, was charged on Saturday with slaying six individuals after a ‘robbery gone awry.’
Birkley had been taken in by the couple after he had lost his accommodation.
They allegedly employed him to keep an eye on the synthetic marijuana company that operated out of the house.
Synthetic marijuana is an extremely dangerous narcotic that contains man-made compounds that operate on the same brain cell receptors as THC does in natural marijuana.
However, synthetic marijuana has been linked to psychotic symptoms in some users, including intense anxiety, confusion, paranoia, and even hallucinations.
On January 19, a confidential witness informed police she went to the home where Donta Williams, 44, Michelle Williams, 49, and pals Donald Smith and Charles Hardy were all hanging around.
Donta Williams, the witness alleged, was broadcasting on Facebook Live as he tallied out $16,000 in profit from selling ‘K2,’ a street term for the synthetic narcotic they created.
According to a cooperative witness statement provided to Milwaukee investigators, Birkley and his cousin decided to rob Donta Williams on January 20, 2022.
However, when they pulled their firearms on the drug dealer, his wife, Michelle Williams, attacked them from their “blind side,” according to the criminal complaint.
According to the witness, they shot Michelle first, then Donta.
Charles Hardy, 42, another inhabitant of the property, was shot and died as he headed up the stairs from the basement with a revolver to help the drug trafficking couple.
According to court records, Birkley informed the informant that ‘everyone else in the basement had to be shot so there would be no witnesses.’
In the basement, Caleb Jordan, 23, and Javoni Liddell, 31, were slain.
Donta’s brother, Donald Smith, 43, was discovered shot to death behind a pile of garments in a second-floor bedroom.
‘We were told it was execution-style,’ Tiffany Cole-Whittington, Michelle Williams’ cousin, told WISN shortly after the shootings.
Investigators who obtained Birkley’s cellphone records discovered that it was in the general neighborhood of the murders at the time they occurred.
When police confiscated his phone following his arrest, they discovered a selfie taken at 10:25 a.m. after the murders.
Birkley was photographed sporting Donta Williams’ pricey specs. According to investigators, the photograph also shows Birkley in the basement, where Caleb Jordan, Javond Liddell, and Charles Hardy were found dead or dying.
Birkley was observed by the informant after the murders flashing a wad of cash and carrying what the cooperator recognized as Donta Williams’ weapon, he informed police.
According to police, there is additional evidence that he attempted to disguise his tracks.
Three days after the shootings, a sobbing woman dialed 911 and reported being shot in the head, providing an address three blocks from the crime scene.
Four other persons, according to the woman, had also been shot.
The address did not exist, according to police, and the caller was later identified as Birkley’s girlfriend.
Authorities followed her cellphone and when they found her, she reportedly told them that Birkley had instructed her to make the phony 911 call.
Three days after the murders, on Jan. 23, 2022, Milwaukee police officers were called to the drug den, where they discovered the bodies.
Birkley has been charged with murder and armed robbery on numerous counts. He is being put in jail on a $1 million bail.
His defense attorney, Mary Garvin Guimont, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
‘This arrest moves us one step closer to bringing justice for all the victims lost in this horrific tragedy,’ said Milwaukee police spokesperson Sgt. Efrain Cornejo. ‘We continue to extend our sympathies to all of the victims’ families and friends.’