Milwaukee man faces homicide and arson charges in pregnant girlfriend's death

A Milwaukee man stands accused of arson and homicide for killing his pregnant girlfriend and their preborn baby.

Key Takeaways:

• Authorities were called to a house fire, where they found a deceased 22-year-old woman inside on a mattress.

• The autopsy determined she was around three months pregnant (though another news report states she was five months pregnant) and died of asphyxiation.

• Cameron C. Washington has been arrested and charged with arson and two counts of first-degree reckless homicide.

The Details:

A Milwaukee man has been charged with setting a house fire that killed his pregnant girlfriend, as well as homicide in the deaths of both the mother and her preborn child.

Cameron C. Washington, 21, has been charged with two counts of first-degree reckless homicide, along with other felony offenses. He was taken into custody on January 5 after authorities were called to a fire near North 26th Street and West Hadley Street.

According to local news station WISN:

Officers found Gladys Johnson-Ball, 22, unconscious on a mattress in a burning second-floor bedroom. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

The Milwaukee County Medical Examiner's Office determined Johnson-Ball died from asphyxia and ruled her death a homicide. An autopsy confirmed she was approximately three months pregnant.

However, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that Washington and Johnson-Ball were in a romantic relationship and that the criminal complaint states she was five months pregnant with their child. It is unclear why there is a discrepancy.

Milwaukee man charged with arson after pregnant woman found dead

WISN continued:

According to the complaint, family members became concerned when they had not seen Johnson-Ball throughout the day. Johnson-Ball's mother told investigators her daughter had been in her bedroom with Washington and their 3-year-old daughter all day.

When family members knocked on the bedroom door, Washington answered but refused to let them enter.

Washington was then asked to leave the house, but he retrieved a gun and aimed it at members of Johnson-Ball’s family, according to her sister, but apparently didn't know how to fire it. 

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel noted that "Johnson's mother called police shortly thereafter then began to smell smoke and urged her family to evacuate the home," including two small children. But her daughter never came out.

When her mother went back inside, she opened Johnson-Ball's locked bedroom door and found her " lying unconscious on her bed with bruising on her arms, the side of her neck and face, and blood coming from her nose."

Washington was caught by authorities attempting to flee the scene, and discovered a lighter in his pants pocket, leading to charges of arson and five counts of first-degree recklessly risking the lives of multiple other people inside the home.

The Journal Sentinel pointed out:

There are "concerns that [Johnson-Ball] may have sustained traumatic injuries following an assault from her significant other as they had a history of domestic violence," the medical examiner noted in a report on Johnson's death.

If found guilty, Washington could be sentenced to decades in prison with hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines.

As the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel points out, Johnson-Ball’s death is part of an alarming national pattern of violence against pregnant women and their unborn children. Pregnant women are more likely to die of homicide than of any cause related to health during pregnancy.

The Bottom Line:

These sobering realities reaffirm the truth that  protecting life must encapsulate both opposition to abortion and swift action against domestic violence.

Every expectant mother, whatever her circumstances, deserves a safe milieu for herself and her baby, as well as an environment that does not condone threats, coercion, or harm in any way.