MILWAUKEE, WI – A man faces a homicide charge after a woman was found shot to death in a motel room on the city’s northwest side under circumstances investigators described as both tragic and bizarre.
The Milwaukee Police Department responded to a call at the Port Motel on Appleton Avenue just after 2:30 p.m. on Jan. 14, where emergency workers discovered a woman lying motionless on a bed. She was pronounced dead at the scene from a single gunshot wound to the forehead, authorities reported.
Police quickly identified the victim as 29-year-old Alicia Machnik. The investigation soon focused on 29-year-old Lance Devon White, who left behind a trail of evidence, including several forms of personal identification in the motel room.
Surveillance footage revealed that White left the motel at 11:28 a.m. No one else was seen entering or exiting the room until the discovery of Machnik’s body hours later. Motel staff told police they last interacted with Machnik around 11:30 a.m., when she asked to extend her stay for another night. The same employee later found the room locked and unresponsive before entering and locating her body.
Detectives learned that Machnik and White had recently married, but interviews with family members and acquaintances described a relationship troubled by instability and repeated stays in motels. Machnik’s former boyfriend of five years told police he often sent her money and accessed her accounts for rideshare services she used to move between temporary lodgings.
Analysis of Machnik’s ride-hailing app records showed a trip that originated from the Port Motel about an hour after detectives believe she was killed. The passenger, matching White’s appearance, was dropped off at a different motel on Applebaum Avenue, but was refused a room because he could not provide identification.
Investigators tracked White to St. Luke’s Hospital, where they arrested him without incident. According to law enforcement, White confessed to his involvement in a subsequent interview, describing a turbulent relationship that had descended into substance abuse.
White reportedly told authorities that Machnik expressed fear for her safety, stating her child’s father would soon be released from prison and might seek revenge on them both. According to White’s statement, Machnik requested he shoot her in the forehead, specifically asking to be shot where his name was tattooed on her skin.
After the shooting, White allegedly fled in shock, discarding the handgun in a nearby sewer. He is charged with first-degree intentional homicide and is expected to appear in court for the first time on Wednesday.
Machnik’s death marks a grim development in a saga that family members say was marked by turmoil in the years since her marriage to White. The investigation remains ongoing as authorities seek to piece together the events leading up to the fatal shooting.