A quiet neighborhood near 75th Street and 22nd Avenue in Kenosha, Wisconsin, is now the center of a fierce hunt for a man charged with killing his estranged wife while their young children were inside the home. Early on April 1, police found 28‑year‑old Makayla Marie Rutka Plaza dead inside her basement after responding to a welfare check called in by a friend who heard her screaming for help. Investigators say her 33‑year‑old husband, Marckus L.A. Plaza, is now wanted on a first‑degree intentional homicide charge with use of a dangerous weapon.
Officers arrived shortly after 6:20 a.m. and were first met by Plaza at the door. According to the criminal complaint, he gave them a false name and then shut the door in their faces. Police moved to the back of the home and watched through a basement window as Plaza dragged a body across the floor. Before they could stop him, he jumped a fence and fled on foot into the surrounding neighborhood.
Inside the house, police found Makayla badly stabbed. Two children believed to belong to the couple were also inside. One young child told officers “Daddy hit Mommy,” and later, “Daddy use a knife, my dad do it,” according to investigators. Signs of a violent struggle were present throughout the home, and a cellphone was found bent in half.
Makayla’s death has shocked friends and neighbors who knew her as a devoted mother. She had worked briefly as a correctional officer with the Kenosha County Sheriff’s Office and was remembered by people who knew her for her strength and care for her children. Family members have expressed deep sorrow and frustration that a restraining order she had sought weeks earlier was denied by a court commissioner.
Police have described Plaza as a Black man about 5‑foot‑6 and 190 pounds, last seen wearing dark sweatpants and a white tank top. A $750,000 cash warrant has been issued for his arrest. Authorities have urged anyone with information about his whereabouts to contact law enforcement immediately.
The community remains on edge as the search continues. Schools in the area were briefly locked down, and residents were asked to shelter in place while officers combed the neighborhood for Plaza. The case has also reignited discussions about the challenges survivors of domestic abuse face when seeking protection through the legal system.
Makayla’s friends say she feared for her safety and for her children’s well‑being in the days leading up to the tragedy. Her death is now the focus of an active homicide investigation, and her loss has left a deep hole in a community struggling to make sense of what happened.
