Apr. 3, 2026 10:20p
(WGTD)---Korey Williams believes ‘the system’ could’ve done more to protect his girlfriend as she tried to extract herself from a bad relationship. He has some specific questions for some specific people.
Like, for instance, why the district attorney’s office failed to file charges in February against Marckus Plaza, the 33 year-old Kenosha man who allegedly went on this past week to fatally stab the woman, 28 year-old Makayla Plaza.
Makayla was in the process of obtaining a divorce from her abusive husband.
Williams, who recently went through a break-up of his own, and Makayla were childhood friends. They recently reconnected and were in the process of moving in together.
After Marckus moved out of the family’s home on 22nd Ave., Makayla felt she could no longer afford the rent on her own, Williams said in a phone interview Friday night.
Williams and Makayla had plans to clean out the 22nd Ave. house this weekend.
But early Wednesday, Marckus returned. That’s when the deadly confrontation occurred in the presence of the couple’s two small children.
Marckus was arrested a day later hiding in the neighborhood. He’s been charged with 1st Degree Intentional Homicide.
Marckus already had a documented history of abusive behavior, the police department confirmed during a Thursday evening news conference.
In the phone interview, Williams cited two cases in which police reports were filed. In one instance, Marckus allegedly stole images of personal, sexually-oriented photos from Mikayla’s phone and posted them on the internet. In the second case, Marckus was arrested and briefly jailed on charges of battery and disorderly conduct in a confrontation with Williams.
Neither instance resulted in criminal charges, although the police department sent both cases to the district attorney’s office with a recommendation to prosecute, according to Williams.
In an interview with TMJ4, District Attorney Xavier Solis said he believed his office did the best it could under the circumstances.
TMJ4 also found five separate contacts that Makayla had with police complaining about Marckus.
Solis’ office has been under pressure for months because of short-staffing. The number of prosecutors has been hovering around a dozen, a little over half of the office’s authorized strength. The office has been unable to fill vacancies, and when it does, the replacements often times don’t stick around, apparently frustrated by the workload and the lack of mentorship. On Thursday, an attorney quit after having served less than a month on the job, according to the state Department of Administration, the agency that covers the salaries of prosecutors.
Williams also has questions about a restraining order that Makayla had requested. Before a court commissioner could rule, Makayla moved to withdraw the request, checking boxes indicating she no longer felt threatened and hadn’t been pressured to change her mind.
None of that was true, according to Williams. Makayla dropped the restraining order request because Marckus had threatened to take her children, he said.
According to online court records, both Mikayla and Marckus were in court when the commissioner granted the request on Feb. 9th. WGTD has requested a transcript of the proceeding.
Mikayla knew the system. It turns out she was an advocate for a time at Women and Children’s Horizons, a shelter and a resource center for domestic violence victims in Kenosha.
The agency put out a statement Friday which read in part, “To prevent domestic violence and homicide, we as a community must listen to victims and must send a consistently strong message that all abuse is unacceptable and that help is available.” Their phone number is 262-652-9900.
The agency went on to say that it’s understandable for people to try to find fault with what the victim or others did “to cause” the abuser to act. “This takes the focus off the abuser who thought they had the right to take a person’s life. The responsibility rests on them,” the agency said.
A gofundme account has been established. The page displays a photo of Makayla in uniform while serving for a brief time as a corrections officer. At the time of her death, Makayla was employed as a Head Start teacher, according to Williams.
-0-