Inset, left to right: Lance D. White (Milwaukee County Jail) and Alicia Machnik (Facebook). Background: The motel where White allegedly killed Machnik (WISN).
A chilling incident unfolded in Wisconsin, where a 29-year-old man is accused of a gruesome murder inside a motel room. Lance Devon White is alleged to have shot and killed Alicia Machnik, also 29, reportedly at her request to target a tattoo of his name on her forehead.
White has been apprehended and faces a charge of first-degree intentional homicide, as per court documents. The incident has shocked the community and raised significant questions about the circumstances leading to this tragic event.
The Milwaukee Police Department responded to a call at the Port Motel on Appleton Avenue at approximately 2:38 p.m. on January 14. Emergency medical personnel arrived on the scene first, where they discovered Machnik lying on the bed, unresponsive. She was pronounced dead shortly thereafter.
Authorities noted that Machnik had sustained a single gunshot wound to the upper right side of her forehead, with the bullet exiting through the back of her head, suggesting a close-range shooting.
Inside the motel room, investigators found several personal items belonging to White, including his state identification card, birth certificate, debit card, and social security card, which linked him to the crime scene.
A motel employee recounted his interactions with Machnik earlier that day. Around 11:30 a.m., he had spoken with her, and she had indicated her intention to extend her stay for another night. When he returned at 2:38 p.m. and received no response to his knocks, he entered the room with a master key, only to find Machnik deceased and bleeding from a head wound.
Surveillance footage showed White leaving the motel room at 11:28 a.m., three hours before Machnik’s body was found. No one else entered or left the room after White’s exit, according to surveillance footage.
Machnik’s mother told police that her daughter and White had been married a year earlier and that Machnik had “spiraled out of control ever since.”
A man who identified himself as Machnik’s on-and-off boyfriend for the last five years told police he often sent Machnik money because she regularly stayed in motels. The man also had access to Machnik’s Uber account, and told police that someone used Machnik’s account to travel from the motel where Machnik’s body was found to another motel on Applebaum Avenue. The app showed that the passenger got into the rideshare car about an hour after Machnik was killed.
An employee at the second motel told police that an individual matching White’s description had asked for a room about 4 p.m. that day, but was turned away because he could not provide identification.
Police were able to track White to nearby St. Luke’s Hospital, where he was taken into custody without incident.
In a post-Miranda interview, White confirmed that he had been dating Machnik for about a year and would typically stay in motels. He said their relationship had recently reached the point where they just enjoy “getting high together.” He also allegedly admitted to shooting Machnik.
“The defendant stated Machnik told him that her child’s father was getting out of prison in eleven months and was going to kill them,” the affidavit states. “The defendant stated Machnik told him to shoot her at the spot his name is tattooed on her face. The defendant stated that he shot her in the head once, and then fled the room in shock. The defendant stated that after he left the room, he discarded the gun in a sewer near some apartment buildings.”
White is scheduled to make his first appearance in court on Wednesday, records show.
