Family relieved after arrest made in south side murder of 15-year-old boy

 

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- The memorial at the northwest corner of S. 16th St. and W. Forest Home Ave. has fewer candles than it did back in October, but there are also some new additions.

Ivelisse Correa pointed out the "Christmas flowers" that were recently placed on a light pole that also has a large poster filled with pictures of her son, 15-year-old Nelson Lopez-Correa.

Lopez-Correa was shot and killed at this corner on Oct. 28 while waiting for a bus. While Milwaukee County prosecutors filed homicide charges last month against the suspected shooter, 18-year-old Christian Martin, he remained on the run until last Friday. Authorities in Iowa arrested Martin, and he's since been extradited to Milwaukee.

News of the arrest brought relief to the young victim's family, but there is no satisfaction. 

"Yeah, you're in jail. Yes, we're gonna get justice," Lopez-Correa's aunt, Maria Correa, said. "But we're not gonna get my nephew back, you get what I'm saying?"

Court records stated Lopez-Correa walked to the bus stop with a close friend and a girl he knew shortly before 11 a.m. to get to school on Oct. 28. Both the boy's friend and the girl told police there was another teen already standing near the corner.

The girl told investigators she knew the teen because they had previously been dating, but she broke up with him because of their age difference. The girl's age was not disclosed in court records, but Lopez-Correa's family said she was 14.

She said "suddenly, while she and Lopez-Correa were looking up the street, she heard the gunshot." Lopez-Correa died three days later at Children's Hospital from a gunshot wound to the head.

For Lopez-Correa's family, the death was a complete shock because they said the teen largely stayed at home.

"There are bad kids out here, but there's also good kids out here," Maria Correa said. "He was not a kid that was on gangs, that had guns, that was out on the streets, nothing like that."

Instead, Ivelisse Correa said her son preferred to just play video games. She said the family learned of Martin's arrest while having a gathering on Saturday.

Ivelisse Correa shares stories about her son, Nelson Lopez-Correa, at the memorial marking where he was shot and killed on October 28.

"I feel happy because I promised my son I'd get his justice, so I'm happy I can do that now," she said. "But it doesn't change how I feel. It doesn't bring my son back."

Martin is charged with First-Degree Intentional Homicide. If convicted, he will receive a mandatory sentence of life in prison. Online court records indicate Martin is due to make his initial court appearance Thursday morning.

Ivelisse Correa did not mince words when asked what message she had for her son's killer.

"I'd tell him he's a coward and he's a monster, and he doesn't deserve to live," she said. "He doesn't deserve to breathe on this planet."

For Lopez-Correa's family, it's a rage the comes from reflecting on all the things their teen will never get to experience.

"He won't be able to get his driver's license. He won't be able to go to prom," Ivelisse Correa said. "He won't have kids. He just won't be able to do anything. His life was cut short over something stupid."