Apr. 1, 2026 4:10p
(WGTD)---Two small children were present in a south side Kenosha home early Wednesday morning when a 33 year-old man allegedly stabbed his estranged wife to death.
According to a criminal complaint, a friend who'd been on the phone with the victim at 6:20 a.m. heard what she thought was a fight brewing between 33 year-old Marckus Plaza and Maykayla Plaza. She called 911 and police were dispatched to 7428 22nd Ave.
Marckus Plaza opened the door for the two officers then quickly shut it. Through a basement window, an officer spotted the man dragging a body. The officers forced their way in. Plaza ran out of the house and jumped a backyard fence, setting off an intense manhunt in the neighborhood.
Officers found the woman--deceased--with a knife in her left eye.
One of the couple's two children--a four year-old--told police: "Daddy uses knife. My dad do it. He put knife in (mommy's) forehead." He described his father as "naughty." A smaller child was found nearby with blood on his clothing but apparently wasn't hurt.
The couple had been in the middle of a divorce. Online court records are unclear, but it appears Maykayla sought a restraining order against her husband then withdrew the application.
Marckus Plaza has been charged with 1st Degree Intentional Homicide.
According to reports, both Plaza's were corrections officers for a time.
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