A Milwaukee man charged with killing his tenant and a woman who witnessed the shooting is now pursuing a legal motion related to a self-defense claim. Kevin Griffin faces charges of first-degree intentional homicide and first-degree reckless homicide stemming from a double killing on November 5, 2025, and his defense is seeking a motion related to his self-defense claim.
According to WTMJ, Griffin allegedly shot his tenant, Terrance Wilder, while trying to evict him over what Griffin claimed was a drug deal. Griffin is also accused of shooting a witness to that killing, A'Nya Raymond, in a car hours later. A McMorris motion, the legal maneuver Griffin's defense is seeking, allows a defense team to introduce evidence about a victim's previous violent behavior in order to support a self-defense claim. That standard traces back to the Wisconsin Supreme Court's 1973 ruling in McMorris v. State, which established that a victim's past violent conduct is admissible to demonstrate a defendant's state of mind when self-defense is raised, according to Justia Law.
A Landlord-Tenant Dispute Turns Deadly
City records show Wilder had submitted complaints to the Milwaukee Department of Neighborhood Services about the apartment he rented from Griffin before the shooting, according to WISN. Those municipal filings document living-condition disputes between the two men prior to the fatal confrontation, though the seed reporting attributes Griffin's motive for the eviction attempt to an alleged drug deal. The City of Milwaukee's 2026 Plan and Budget Summary lists 100,000 for the Neighborhood Services Landlord/Tenant Compliance Program and 1,275,000 for Code Enforcement Inspectors. The city's 2025 Proposed Funding Allocation Plan says a program supports designated blighted areas through enhanced special enforcement activity and landlord training.
What happened after Wilder's death is where the case grows far darker. Per the criminal complaint, Griffin admitted to both killings during police interviews. Court filings reported by CBS 58 describe how Griffin forced Raymond and her 7-year-old nonverbal son into his vehicle after the first shooting, then shot Raymond eight times hours later, allegedly after she pulled a knife and mace from her purse. Griffin told investigators he killed Raymond because she was in the wrong place at the wrong time and he doubted her promises not to inform law enforcement, the same outlet reported.
Child Found Wandering Miles From the Scene
Raymond's son was in the car during the second shooting and was later found wandering barefoot with blood on his clothes miles away, according to the criminal complaint cited by WTMJ. The CBS 58 report further states that Griffin covered Raymond's body in an alley under leaves before abandoning the child.
During Griffin's initial court appearance on November 16, 2025, a Milwaukee County judge set his bond at $500,000 after prosecutors detailed his confession to investigators, The Independent reported. Griffin was also charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, a charge that stems from a Wisconsin statute barring people with prior felony records from owning or carrying handguns, per Law & Crime.
What the McMorris Hearing Could Decide
What the McMorris Hearing Could Decide Griffin's McMorris motion is part of the case's pretrial proceedings. Under a 2009 precedent from State v. McClaren, defendants claiming self-defense must disclose intended McMorris evidence to prosecutors and the court before trial so judges can evaluate its admissibility in advance, according to the State Bar of Wisconsin. A Wisconsin Supreme Court announcement dated 19 Dec 2008 said a court may order a defendant claiming self-defense to disclose possible evidence of a victim's prior violent acts before trial.
If Griffin's defense clears that hurdle, the legal stakes shift dramatically. A Justia Law analysis discusses the state's burden in evaluating a self-defense claim.
A City Already Grappling With Rising Violence
A City Already Grappling With Rising Violence The case unfolds in Milwaukee. The case also has a national context. According to the Milwaukee Police Department's annual reports, homicides increased 11% and non-fatal shootings increased 1% after reaching historic levels in 2020 and 2021, while carjackings increased 7%.
The landlord-tenant friction at the center of this case also includes complaints about housing conditions. Whether those complaints played any role in escalating the dispute between Griffin and Wilder remains unaddressed in court filings.
For now, the case remains in a pretrial posture, and the scope of evidence jurors may hear remains unresolved.
