‘Shocking’: Family of murdered pharmacy student seeking answers
By Kendall Keys
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MEQUON, Wis. (WISN) — A Concordia University School of Pharmacy student was murdered Tuesday.
According to Milwaukee police, someone shot and killed a 26-year-old woman near 39th Street and Lancaster Avenue just before 10 p.m. Tuesday. Family identified the woman killed as Ariel Spillner. Police said a 31-year-old woman was also shot. She survived, and is who police say is their suspect in Ariel’s death.
Ariel’s family, from the Madison area and Iowa County, came to Mequon on Thursday, meeting with her fellow students, professors and friends at the Concordia University School of Pharmacy.
Courtney Spillner, Ariel’s older sister, said she had one year of classes left in pharmacy school.
“She wanted to be a pharmacist so bad. She was so excited. When she graduated, she wanted to move to Florida and be a pharmacist there,” Spillner said.
“Why did she want to be a pharmacist?” WISN 12 News reporter Kendall Keys asked.
“She wants to help people. She loves helping others. She would give you the clothes off her back if you needed it,” Spillner said.
Spillner said she talked to Ariel on the phone Tuesday night.
“I had talked to her at 8 that evening and everything was fine. She was her goofy self, laughing, smiling, joking around. And just a few hours after that is when she had passed,” Spillner said. “It’s just shocking. It’s hard to wrap my head around not having my sister.”
“Do you remember the last thing you guys said to each other?” Keys asked.
“We told each other we loved each other when we hung up the phone. We always say it. This time, it’s just a little more special,” Spillner said.
Police said a 31-year-old woman was also shot. She survived and it’s who police arrested in connection to Ariel’s death. Spillner said the two were friends.
“She was friends with her,” Spillner said. “It was her birthday, I guess. And she probably just went over there to celebrate. She had a big exam on Friday, so I don’t anticipate that she would have stayed out too long. But yeah, just to be there for her friend, celebrate their birthday.”
Those closest to Ariel said they’re still trying to piece together what happened at the house on 39th Street.
“She’s an incredible person who was taken way too soon. She had so much more life left to live, so much more to give to her community, to the people she loved. It’s heartbreaking that we don’t get to see her life play out as it should have,” Spillner said.
“It’s heartbreaking. If there’s anyone that deserve to live out their dream, it’s Ariel,” Liz Bruchs said.
Bruchs said she and Ariel were close friends for years, even playing college basketball together at Lake Superior State and Clark University. Ariel also had her third-degree black belt in karate.
“She loved the beach, and she always wanted to go there. She went and visited one of our friends there quite a few times, and just absolutely fell in love with Florida and always talked about when she saved enough money up, she would go there,” Bruchs said. “She really deserved to get to that point.”
Bruchs organized a Gofundme to help the family pay for funeral expenses.
The Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office said they are reviewing the case and expects a charging decision in the coming days. Milwaukee police did not have an update on the 31-year-old woman’s condition. Police said they are not seeking additional suspects.
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