Kenosha mother killed; boyfriend speaks out about estranged husband's abuse

KENOSHA, Wis. (CBS 58) -- A Kenosha man is in custody after a more than 24-hour manhunt. He’s accused of killing his estranged wife, 28-year-old Makayla Plaza.

Her boyfriend, Korey Williams, says warning signs were there and believes this tragedy could have been prevented.

“The kindest, sweetest person you would ever meet,” he said, describing Makayla as someone who could light up a room, no matter how bad her day was.

But behind the scenes, he said, Makayla had been dealing with ongoing abuse from her estranged husband, Marckus Plaza, from whom she had filed for divorce.

“Locking her in the house, keeping keys from her, monitoring her communication over security cameras that me and her would have, taking items and taking car keys so she wasn’t able to leave the house,” he said.

On Wednesday morning, Williams’ worst fear came true. “She gave me a kiss at 5:30 in the morning and I never saw her again,” he said.

Kenosha police say officers responded to a disturbance and found Makayla dead in the basement.

They say Plaza ran, jumped a fence and sparked a day-long manhunt before being found hiding in a salon basement Thursday.

Williams said he and Makayla tried to prevent the tragedy. “The system did fail her; we filed that restraining order that was denied by the judge because of quote not enough evidence. At some point how much evidence is enough evidence,” he said.

He added, “If that restraining order was granted we would have had grounds to not be around him.”

Makayla leaves behind three children. Williams said he hopes sharing her story will help protect others from experiencing the same tragedy.

“Don’t stop the fight if you feel like you’re in a bad relationship. Seek the help, guidance, reach out and don’t stop until you’re out,” he said.