A celebration turned tragically dark in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, when 26-year-old Ariel Spillner, a promising pharmacy student, was fatally shot. The alleged perpetrator? Her friend, 32-year-old Jamica Mills, who now faces decades behind bars.
Police arrived at the scene on November 4th to find Mills with a gunshot wound to her abdomen, claiming the shooting was accidental. Spillner lay unconscious nearby, a single gunshot wound to her shoulder proving fatal despite rushed medical attention.
Mills initially told officers she feared for her life, alleging Spillner intended to stab her after they had smoked marijuana. This claim, however, quickly began to unravel under scrutiny, riddled with inconsistencies and shifting narratives.
Prosecutors note Mills’s fragmented recollection of events, stating she couldn’t remember the shooting itself, only waking up in the living room and later at the hospital. She even initially suggested Spillner might have shot *her* first, a claim she later retracted.
The story morphed again when Mills admitted to retrieving a gun from her bedroom, fueled by a sudden paranoia sparked by a seemingly innocuous comment about Spillner trimming her dog’s hair with scissors. She confessed to shooting Spillner after a hand gesture, despite insisting Spillner never posed a direct threat.
A crucial piece of evidence emerged from Mills’s sister-in-law, who was present during the shooting. She recalled hearing a heated exchange – “ you tripping” – immediately before two gunshots shattered the evening, suggesting anger, not fear, motivated the act.
Ariel Spillner was on the cusp of realizing her dreams, completing her final year at Concordia University with plans to relocate to Florida and begin her pharmacy career. Those dreams were brutally extinguished.
“She was literally the best person you could ask for as a friend, as a sister, as a daughter,” her sister, Courtney Spillner, shared with heartbreaking grief. “She was the best to everyone… always there for anyone, no matter what.”
Courtney clings to the last words exchanged with her sister: a simple, yet profound, “I love you.” A memory now etched forever in her heart, a painful reminder of the life stolen too soon.
Jamica Mills has been charged with first-degree reckless homicide and use of a dangerous weapon, facing a potential sentence of up to 60 years in prison if convicted. Her bond is set at $150,000, and a preliminary hearing is scheduled for November 17th.
