Background: News footage of the scene in Milwaukee, Wis., on Jan. 5 (WISN). Inset (left): Gladys Johnson-Ball (GoFundMe). Inset (right): Cameron Washington during his court appearance on Jan. 11 (WITI).
A man from Wisconsin has been identified as the suspect in a house fire that tragically resulted in the death of his pregnant girlfriend. The incident occurred while he was staying with her family.
Twenty-one-year-old Cameron Washington faces charges of arson, five counts of reckless endangerment, and intentionally pointing a firearm at someone following the blaze on January 5th. His girlfriend, Gladys Johnson-Ball, aged 22, was found deceased by emergency responders. According to the criminal complaint accessed by Law&Crime, Johnson-Ball, who was five months pregnant, sustained multiple injuries to her arms, neck, and face.
As previously covered by Law&Crime, Washington is the father of Johnson-Ball’s three-year-old daughter and her unborn child. Authorities suspect the young girl may have witnessed the tragic events involving her mother.
The criminal complaint reveals that Johnson-Ball’s mother discovered her unconscious on her bed and carried her out of the burning house. Despite efforts to revive her, Johnson-Ball was declared dead shortly after midnight. Washington reportedly fled but was apprehended nearby, allegedly with a lighter in his pocket.
First responders noted several injuries on Johnson-Ball, including bruising and redness on her arms, neck, shoulders, and face, along with a bloody nose. She also had petechiae in her left eye, indicating possible trauma.
Michelle Johnson, Johnson-Ball’s mother, informed the police that the last sighting of her daughter alive was at 11 a.m. on January 5th. The family grew concerned as the day progressed without seeing her. Later that evening, after receiving a food delivery around 8:40 p.m., family members attempted to check on Johnson-Ball by knocking on her bedroom door, but Washington prevented them from entering or speaking with her.
In an interview with local Fox affiliate WITI, Johnson said Washington was “blocking the door, like ‘No, you [are] not getting in here.’”
Police spoke to Johnson-Ball’s sister, who said she made several attempts to speak to Johnson-Ball throughout the day. After 9 p.m., Washington came out of the bedroom and told Johnson-Ball’s sister, “Please be quiet, Mommy’s sleeping” while he had a “concerned facial expression.” At some point in the evening, Washington “pretended to speak” to Johnson-Ball while inside the room, but family members did not hear her respond. According to the complaint, Washington told the family that Johnson-Ball was “sleeping and should not be woken up.”
Johnson eventually told Washington to leave the home, which she told police “upset” him. He then allegedly took out a gun and pointed it at several family members. They ran away, and Johnson told police she “barricaded” herself in her bedroom. She said by the way Washington was handling the gun, it did not appear that he knew how to use it.
As Johnson was calling the police, she allegedly smelled smoke. She then saw Washington running out the front door.
A detective who was at the scene said Johnson-Ball was “cold to the touch” and could have been dead for hours. An autopsy revealed several injuries and signs of asphyxia, but did not yield a cause or manner of death.
Washington appeared in court on Sunday and a judge set his bond at $200,000. He has not been charged in connection with Johnson-Ball’s death. He is currently in custody at the Milwaukee County Jail. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for Jan. 20.
