Milwaukee, WI: Man sentenced to 10 years in prison after wife's death

e-mail print By Bruce Vielmetti of the Journal Sentinel
May 9, 2011

A 45-year-old Milwaukee man, whose wife's body was found floating in Lake Michigan in 2009 about a month after he reported her missing, was sentenced Monday to 10 years in prison.

Myesha Haynes, 28, was discovered half-naked about 140 feet from shore near 1500 S. Lincoln Memorial Drive on May 13, 2009. She had been shot in the chest. Melvin Ray House had reported Haynes missing on April 15.

In March 2010, House was charged with first-degree intentional homicide. Last week, in the midst of a nonjury trial before Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Kevin Martens, House pleaded guilty to an amended charge of negligent handling of a dangerous weapon and being a felon in possession of a gun.

On Monday, Martens sentenced House to five years in prison for each offense, to be served consecutively, followed by five years of extended supervision after his release. House was credited for 434 days he has spent in jail since his arrest.

According to the criminal complaint: In April 2009, Haynes moved in with friends Terry and Rita Lee, saying she wanted to divorce House because he repeatedly had beaten her and threatened her with a gun. On April 11, House came to pick up Haynes so she could get her belongings, then return. Before she got in House's van, she gave the friends the phone numbers of House's relatives and her debit card and PIN number, saying if anything happened to her, she wanted them to have her money, not House. The friends never heard from her again.

Haynes' brother, Juan Garcia, told police that at the couple's residence near N. 28th St. and Juneau Ave., Haynes was gathering belongings when House accused her of trying to steal jewelry. An argument broke out, and Garcia and another friend left because Garcia was afraid of violating probation. House later told Garcia that on the way back to the house where Haynes was staying, she jumped out of his van near S. 35th St. and National Ave. and ran.

Investigators found that Haynes had been shot four times with a .32 caliber gun, like one House was known to have. They also found the sneakers Haynes had been wearing April 11 in House's car.