MILWAUKEE, WI — An argument over a fast-food job has led to homicide charges for a 19-year-old Milwaukee woman, who prosecutors say stabbed her cousin to death in the home they shared on the city’s south side.

Rae’Jianna Hall is accused of killing Jaquveon Wright, also 19, during a confrontation on Sept. 29 that began with a dispute over employment at Taco Bell.

According to the criminal complaint, cited by WISN, Hall had recently been fired from the restaurant and blamed Wright, who still worked there, for not helping her get rehired.

The incident unfolded inside their residence on the 800 block of South 22nd Street, about two blocks from the Mitchell Park Domes. Prosecutors say the argument escalated when Hall pepper-sprayed Wright, then grabbed a knife and swung it at him—tearing his sweater but not initially causing injury.

According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Wright responded by calling his parents to the house. Tensions flared again shortly after, when Wright entered Hall’s bedroom and the fight turned deadly.

The complaint, as reported by CBS 58, states that Hall stabbed Wright in the neck during that second altercation. After being wounded, Wright ran from the home but collapsed outside. Emergency responders pronounced him dead at the scene.

Witness accounts detailed in the complaint describe a disturbing escalation. Wright’s girlfriend, who also lived in the home, told investigators she overheard Hall laughing during the struggle and threatening Wright with chilling clarity: “I’m going to stab you, I’m going to kill you.” She also reported hearing Wright’s mother yell, “you stabbed my son,” moments after the incident.

Hall, who had moved to Milwaukee from Mississippi a few months prior, admitted to both pepper-spraying and stabbing her cousin, according to statements she gave to police and outlined in multiple reports.

In a Mirandized interview, WISN reports, she said she acted in self-defense, claiming Wright had punched her. Still, she acknowledged to investigators that she knew swinging a knife could lead to someone getting “hurt or killed,” though she insisted that wasn’t her intention.

Hall has been charged with first-degree reckless homicide, a Class B felony, with penalty enhancers for the use of a dangerous weapon and domestic abuse. If convicted, she could face up to 60 years in prison, plus an additional five years for the weapon modifier, according to CBS 58. She remains in custody ahead of a preliminary hearing scheduled for Oct. 14.

The killing adds to a rising toll in Milwaukee, where police have recorded 110 homicides so far this year—up 7% compared to the same time last year, though still 17% below the count from two years ago.

As noted by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, arguments escalating into violence remain the most common trigger for homicides in the city. Since 2020, nearly 29% of all killings have stemmed from disputes or fights, according to police data through early September.