The complaint outlines a life-eligible homicide case built around scene evidence, an autopsy and statements to police.
MILWAUKEE, Wisc. — Milwaukee County prosecutors charged Hayward Jenkins with first-degree intentional homicide after police said he killed his mother, Cheryl Jenkins, inside a West Milwaukee home, a felony count that carries a potential life sentence under Wisconsin law.
The criminal complaint filed Feb. 28 lays out how authorities say the case came together in four steps: the emergency call and scene response, the witness account from inside the home, the medical examiner’s findings and the defendant’s own statement after his arrest. Together, those pieces form the basis of the state’s claim that the killing was intentional, not accidental, and that it happened after a family argument turned violent in the guest room of the home.
Police were dispatched at 8:07 a.m. Feb. 24 to 1720 S. 44th St. after a caller reported that his fiancée had been struck in the head with a bat by her son and that the son had fled. Officer Luis Gutierrez reported finding Cheryl Jenkins face down on her stomach with a wooden baseball bat on top of her body. The officer said there was blood on the barrel of the bat, a large open wound on the back of her head and a pooling of blood around her head. He began CPR until Milwaukee Fire Department personnel took over, but lifesaving efforts failed. Prosecutors also noted blood on her face, right hand and forearm, along with what officers described as blood spatter on the bedroom door and wall.
The complaint uses the witness account to place Hayward Jenkins in the house overnight and to show the hours before the killing was discovered. Cheryl Jenkins’ fiancé told police the defendant arrived around 9 to 10 p.m., that Cheryl gave him food and that he stayed in the guest room. The fiancé said he woke around 4 to 4:30 a.m. after hearing a noise, believed it came from upstairs neighbors and went back to sleep. When he woke around 7:30 a.m., he called Cheryl Jenkins and got no answer. He then found the guest-room door locked, entered through the bathroom and found her on the floor. Prosecutors also said the witness told officers the room looked different from the day before, with clutter and a broken metal bed frame, a detail that supports the state’s claim of a violent struggle or attack inside that room.
The autopsy findings are among the most damaging details in the complaint. Dr. Lauren Decker documented numerous blunt-force injuries, including lacerations to the scalp, hemorrhaging, skull fractures and injuries to Cheryl Jenkins’ face, arm and legs. The cause of death was listed as blunt-force injuries. Those findings, combined with the placement of the bat and the blood evidence, gave prosecutors a medical and physical record to match the witness account. The complaint does not mention a second suspect or any sign of forced entry. It also does not say whether the state expects to add charges, such as a weapons count, though the homicide charge alone is the most serious count available in the case.
Police then tied the room to the route out. According to the complaint, surveillance footage showed a person in dark clothing running between apartment buildings in the 1700 block of Miller Park Way and then boarding an MCTS bus at about 6:07 a.m. at Miller Park Way and West Mitchell Street. Later, after family members suggested Jenkins might be at Potawatomi Casino, officers found and arrested him there at about 12:33 p.m. Police said he was wearing the same clothes seen in the video. After receiving Miranda warnings, Jenkins allegedly told investigators he had argued with his mother over silver coins, money and “her not listening.” He said she had scissors in her hand, that he became angry, got the bat and struck her multiple times while she sat in a chair.
The procedural path after the arrest moved fast. Jenkins appeared in court March 1, and local news reports said a judge set cash bond at $300,000. A preliminary hearing had been scheduled for March 10. At that hearing stage, prosecutors would typically need to show probable cause that a felony was committed and that Jenkins likely committed it. Publicly available sources reviewed for this story did not provide a later update on the outcome of that hearing. For now, the complaint remains the clearest public record of what investigators say happened inside the home and why prosecutors believe the charge should stand.
Author note: Last updated March 30, 2026.