Terry Jefferson was sentenced to life for the Milwaukee murder of Charles Williams.

A life sentence after a jury’s first-degree intentional homicide conviction is the judgment of the court. FOX6 said Jefferson will be eligible for extended supervision after 35 years. The complaint said Williams was shot while helping Jefferson move at an apartment near 27th and Highland; officers already at the building heard gunfire and found Jefferson holding a gun.

FOX6 Milwaukee reported Monday, Oct. 12, 2026, that a jury convicted Terry Jefferson, 35, of first-degree intentional homicide in July, and that Milwaukee County Judge Laura Crivello sentenced him to life in prison on Oct. 8. He will be eligible for release on extended supervision after serving 35 years. A sentence after a jury conviction is the judgment of the court.

According to FOX6’s account of the criminal complaint, Milwaukee police were already at an apartment building near 27th and Highland looking for a wanted person on Feb. 26, 2025, when an officer heard a loud bang just before 5 p.m. followed by rapid gunfire. Officers found Jefferson and Charles Williams in a second-floor hallway. Jefferson was holding a gun. Williams was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead; an autopsy determined he died from multiple gunshot wounds. The complaint said Williams had been helping Jefferson move.

FOX6 reported that a witness said Jefferson claimed Williams tried to grab the gun and “shot himself,” then asked the witness to call paramedics. After the witness went back inside, the witness heard six or seven more shots. Doorbell video, per the complaint, showed Jefferson standing over Williams after the first shots. In custody, Jefferson told police he believed Williams was grabbing for the gun; he also acknowledged he never saw Williams with a weapon. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.