Milwaukee prosecutors charge jailor in fugitive’s death

Apr 21, 2023, 10:38 AM

MIlWAUKEE (AP) — A Milwaukee County Jail guard was charged with misconduct Friday in connection with the in-custody death earlier this year of an accused killer who was once on the FBI’s top 10 most wanted list.

Laquisha Cowser, 32, told investigators that she had completed her safety checks when she had not, according to the criminal complaint. Jail surveillance video shows that she skipped Octaviano Juarez-Corro’s cell on two separate checks in the two hours preceding his death.

Cowser has been a jailor for about four years, the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office said. She was relieved of duty with pay pending the outcome of the criminal case and a subsequent internal review. Online court records did not list an attorney for Cowser.

Juarez-Corro, 49, was found unresponsive in his single-occupant cell in January, authorities have said.

An investigator with the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s Office discovered a ligature around Juarez-Corro’s neck, the complaint said. Investigators who wrote the complaint did not elaborate on where the ligature may have come from or whether Juarez-Corro possibly killed himself.

Juarez-Corro had confronted his estranged wife at a 2006 Memorial Day picnic in a Milwaukee park and demanded to see his daughter, authorities say. When his wife refused and told him to leave, Juarez-Corro allegedly pulled out a handgun and shot five people. Two of them died. Hundreds of people were in the park at the time.

Juarez-Corro disappeared after the shooting, landing on the FBI’s most wanted list in 2021. He was finally captured in Zapopan, Guadalajara, Mexico, in February 2022 thanks to a tip. He was extradited to Milwaukee in September.

He faced two counts of first-degree intentional homicide and three counts of attempted first-degree homicide. He had been held on $1.5 million bail since October.

United States News

FILE - Philippe Lazzarini, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Commissioner-General o...

Associated Press

UN agency for Palestinian refugees raises just $107 million of $300 million needed to help millions

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Despite a dire warning from the U.N. chief that the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees “is on the verge of financial collapse,” donors at a pledging conference on Friday provided just $107 million in new funds — significantly less than the $300 million it needs to keep helping millions of people. […]

1 day ago

FILE - Cherokee Nation Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr., speaks during a House Rules Committee hearing at the...

Associated Press

Hoskin seeks second term as leader of powerful Cherokee Nation

TAHLEQUAH, Okla. (AP) — Citizens of the Cherokee Nation — the largest Native American tribe in the U.S. — are set to decide whether Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. should lead the tribe for another four years as it enters a golden era after courts recognized its sprawling reservation and an operating budget of more […]

1 day ago

Associated Press

Biden expected to sign budget deal to raise debt ceiling

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is expected to sign legislation on Saturday to raise the debt ceiling, just two days before the U.S. Treasury warned that the country would struggle to pay its bills. The bipartisan measure, which was approved this week by the House and Senate, eliminates the potential for an unprecedented government […]

1 day ago

Boats jockey for position minutes before the opening of the Sitka Sound sac roe herring fishery on ...

Associated Press

Tragedy that left 5 dead or missing puts spotlight on safety in Alaska charter fishing industry

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Morgan Robidou posed next to the bright aluminum hull of his prized new vessel, a 30-foot (9-meter) fishing boat that he could use to take friends, family or tourists out after salmon or halibut in the bountiful waters of southeast Alaska. “Official boat owner,” he wrote when he posted the photo […]

1 day ago

A bee arrives at a hive on the roof of the Warren Rudman U.S. Court House, Friday, May 5, 2023, in ...

Associated Press

Buzzworthy: Honeybee health blooming at federal facilities across the country

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — While judges, lawyers and support staff at the federal courthouse in Concord, New Hampshire, keep the American justice system buzzing, thousands of humble honeybees on the building’s roof are playing their part in a more important task — feeding the world. The Warren B. Rudman courthouse is one of several federal […]

1 day ago

FILE - A TV screen shows an image of North Korea's rocket launch during a news program at the Seoul...

Associated Press

US, allies clash with Russia, China over North Korea’s failed military spy satellite launch

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The United States and its allies clashed with Russia and China on Friday over North Korea’s failed launch of a military spy satellite this week in violation of multiple U.N. Security Council resolutions, which Moscow and Beijing refused to condemn. The confrontation was the latest over the North’s escalating nuclear, ballistic […]

1 day ago

Sponsored Articles

...

Desert Institute for Spine Care

Spinal fusion surgery has come a long way, despite misconceptions

As Dr. Justin Field of the Desert Institute for Spine Care explained, “we've come a long way over the last couple of decades.”

...

OCD & Anxiety Treatment Center

How to identify the symptoms of 3 common anxiety disorders

Living with an anxiety disorder can be debilitating and cause significant stress for those who suffer from the condition.

(Photo: OCD & Anxiety Treatment Center)...

OCD & Anxiety Treatment Center

Here’s what you need to know about OCD and where to find help

It's fair to say that most people know what obsessive-compulsive spectrum disorders generally are, but there's a lot more information than meets the eye about a mental health diagnosis that affects about one in every 100 adults in the United States.

Milwaukee prosecutors charge jailor in fugitive’s death