Police video captures Carrie Zettel telling officers she feared her daughter the morning before she was found dead outside her south side home.
MILWAUKEE, WI — Newly released police body-camera footage shows 64-year-old Carrie Zettel telling officers before dawn on Oct. 12, 2025, that she feared her daughter, Lauren Spors. Hours later, police returned to Zettel’s south side home and found her dead; Spors, 29, is charged with first-degree intentional homicide.
Authorities released the footage this week as the case remains in a competency phase, drawing fresh attention to how officers assess risk and connect people in crisis to treatment. The video shows officers discussing voluntary mental health help, which Spors declines. Prosecutors allege Spors later used a rock to beat Zettel in the backyard of the home near 23rd Street and Ramsey Avenue. A judge ruled in November that Spors was not competent to stand trial and ordered treatment, with a doctor’s report due in February. The recording adds detail to a case that has raised questions about the limits of Wisconsin’s emergency commitment law and the narrow window in which police can act.
Shortly after 3 a.m. on Oct. 12, officers responded to Zettel’s front door after she reported a conflict with her daughter, who, the video shows, was sleeping under a tarp in the yard. “She can’t live with me because she’s too violent,” Zettel tells officers on camera, adding, “I’m afraid of her.” One officer replies, “We can’t force her to get some help,” and the pair discuss offering voluntary services. Police locate Spors a few blocks away; the video indicates she refuses assistance. Officers and Zettel settle on a temporary plan for a hotel room while they explore options for a treatment bed. The audio is briefly muted for medical privacy before the call ends without an arrest or emergency detention.
At 2:06 p.m., records show Zettel called 911 again, reporting her daughter was “being violent.” Officers arrived within minutes and found Zettel in the backyard, covered in blood and suffering severe head injuries. Nearby, police recovered a rock weighing about four pounds, described in a criminal complaint as stained with blood. Spors was found inside the house with blood on her feet, hands and face, according to the same document. A neighbor told investigators she had seen Spors sleeping on the front lawn that weekend and later “standing over” Zettel making repeated downward motions with an object. The Milwaukee County Medical Examiner listed the cause of death as multiple blunt-force injuries to the head.
Prosecutors charged Spors on Oct. 14 with first-degree intentional homicide, adding a domestic abuse threat modifier. In court filings, they cite prior contacts between Spors and police and Zettel’s past attempts to get legal protection. A 2018 restraining order application written by Zettel described fear of her daughter amid recurring mental health struggles; court records show Spors was accused of violating that order four times, and the cases were repeatedly paused when she was found incompetent. In one incident described in public records, Spors was taken to the county mental health facility after a rock was thrown through a window at Zettel’s home. How long she remained under care in that episode is not indicated in publicly available documents.
Under Wisconsin’s emergency commitment statute, officers may take someone into custody for evaluation if there is a substantial probability of harm to self or others and the person is deemed treatable. Police have said those criteria can be difficult to meet in the moment if a person denies intent to harm and declines voluntary services. The body-camera footage reflects that tension: Officers discuss offering help and mention trying to secure a bed by Monday, while acknowledging they cannot compel treatment that morning. In separate recent Milwaukee-area cases involving mental health crises, agencies have said similar thresholds were not met even hours before serious incidents, a dynamic the Zettel case again underscores.
On Nov. 21, a judge ruled Spors not competent to proceed and ordered her committed for treatment aimed at restoring competency. The case is paused while doctors evaluate her condition. A report to the court is scheduled for February, when the judge will review whether Spors understands the proceedings and can assist in her defense. If restored to competency, the homicide case would resume in Milwaukee County Circuit Court; if not, the commitment could be extended under state law while prosecutors and defense counsel monitor her status. Spors remains held on the homicide count, which carries a potential life sentence if she is convicted.
The home where Zettel died sits on a quiet block of modest houses just west of 23rd Street. On the afternoon of the killing, police tape cordoned off the yard as neighbors watched from porches in the cold. “We’d seen officers here before, but I never thought it would come to this,” one neighbor told officers, according to a summary in the complaint. Friends described Zettel as a steady presence who often checked on people on the block. The body-camera clip of her voice—soft but firm—circulated widely after its release, with Zettel saying twice, “I’m afraid of her,” a line that has resonated with viewers and renewed debate over how early warnings are handled.
Court filings do not list a defense attorney’s public statement on the video release. The police department said the footage was released in response to public records requests and ongoing media coverage of the case. Prosecutors said the criminal complaint and search warrant affidavits speak for themselves. Officials have not said whether additional video or documents will be made public before the next court update. Investigators said they are still collecting witness statements and reviewing prior calls for service to the address, along with any available hotel records from the days before the killing.
As of Wednesday, the case remains in a treatment-and-evaluation period, with the next competency report due in February. Police say the homicide investigation remains open pending any supplemental evidence. A status hearing date will be set after the medical update is filed.
Author note: Last updated January 21, 2026.