Convicted Bank Robber Says Fox Lake Murder Suspect Confessed

(Juneau) A federal detainee convicted of bank robbery testified Monday that the suspect in a Fox Lake murder trial confessed. Milwaukee-native Malik Critton says Laverne Ware Jr. killed his girlfriend and first cousin Sesalie Dixon on December 3, 2016. Dixon’s body was found at 100 We Go Trial with three, nine-millimeter rounds in her head.

The defense argues that the defendant’s mother, Marjorie Jones, is the actual perpetrator of the crime. They say the 56-year-old Jones was upset because Dixon had stolen money, pills and her 59-year-old, live-in boyfriend.

Critton, who currently resides in the Dodge County Detention Facility, got to know Ware during late 2017 and early 2018. Critton said they began talking because they grew up in the same neighborhood in Milwaukee but their conversations quickly turned into discussions about Ware’s crime.

Critton testified that Ware told him that he beat and later shot Dixon in her head. He told District Attorney Kurt Klomberg that the motive for the killing was that Dixon was falling out of love with Ware and that she was starting to pack up her clothes.

Critton testified that Ware also explained to him the reasoning behind his incestual relationship with Dixon saying that Ware told him that incest was tradition in ancient kingdoms.

He said these conversations, and his conscience, spurred him to write a letter to the Dodge County District Attorney’s Office to notify authorities that he had (quote) “disturbing information” about the murder and could not keep Ware’s secret any longer. Critton said he had detailed notes of his conversations with Ware but those were destroyed when he was transferred from the Dodge County facility to Kenosha in late February of 2018; a fact that was brought up by the defense during cross examination.

When questioned by Ware’s attorneys, Critton said he simply did not think of mentioning those notes when he first contacted the District Attorney’s Office. The defense also noted that Ware did not reveal any information to Critton about where the murder took place or anything about the gun used in the crime.

Critton’s testimony comes as he is currently facing anywhere from seven to 47 years in prison on his bank robbery charges. Critton did admit he hopes his statements in the Ware trial will grant him leniency with the judge when he is sentenced in April. He added that he is concerned about how that hearing will unfold.