Prosecutors say surveillance video shows the couple checking in two days before the killing on the city’s northwest side.
MILWAUKEE — A 29-year-old Milwaukee man has been charged with first-degree intentional homicide in the shooting death of his wife, Alicia Machnik, 29, who was found fatally wounded inside a room at the Port Motel on Jan. 14 on Appleton Avenue just south of Silver Spring Drive, according to a criminal complaint and police statements.
Authorities say the charge against Lance Devon White follows a weeklong review of evidence gathered from the motel, nearby businesses, and interviews with family members and acquaintances. The case has moved quickly because investigators say video and physical items left in the room helped them identify a suspect within a day. The killing has drawn attention across Milwaukee because Machnik, a mother of two, had been living in motels in recent weeks, and the complaint outlines a sequence of events that prosecutors argue points to an intentional shooting. White remained in custody ahead of an initial court appearance scheduled for Jan. 20.
Police were called to the Port Motel on the afternoon of Jan. 14 after a cleaner reported finding Machnik unresponsive on a bed with a gunshot wound to her head. The cleaner told investigators that he had spoken with Machnik earlier that morning when she asked to extend her stay, then returned in the afternoon when she did not answer the door. Surveillance footage reviewed by detectives shows Machnik and White checking in on the afternoon of Jan. 12. The complaint says the same camera later recorded White leaving the room late on Jan. 14, minutes after the cleaner’s morning stop, and no one else entering before the victim was found. “It was quiet. I knocked again and went in,” the cleaner said, according to the complaint.
Inside the room, detectives recovered a single spent casing and one intact bullet with apparent blood on it, as well as several personal documents tied to White, including a birth certificate and Social Security card, the complaint states. Investigators also interviewed a relative who identified both Machnik and White from the motel surveillance frames and told police the pair had been married about a year. Another man who described himself as Machnik’s on-and-off boyfriend said he knew she had been staying in motels with White and that he sometimes sent her money. Police wrote in the complaint that White was not seen returning to the room after leaving late that morning. The gun used in the killing has not been recovered.
Detectives located White the next day at a hospital after an employee at a second motel less than a half mile away reported that a man without identification had tried to rent a room. A family member later told police she had driven White to get medical attention because he seemed disheveled and not himself. In an interview, White told investigators he and Machnik had been using drugs together and said she told him to shoot her because she feared harm from another person. He admitted firing a single round into her head and leaving in shock, according to the complaint. He told police he discarded the firearm in a sewer and walked to another motel. Prosecutors emphasized in filings that the state is alleging an intentional act regardless of what was said in the room.
Motel records show the couple checked in on Jan. 12 and paid for back-to-back nights. The Port Motel sits near 97th Street and Appleton Avenue, a corridor with several small lodgings and businesses. Police calls to the area are not unusual, public logs show, but authorities have not detailed any earlier incidents involving Machnik and White there. Court records list White’s initial appearance for Jan. 20 in Milwaukee County. If convicted of first-degree intentional homicide, he faces a mandatory life sentence. Prosecutors did not list additional charges in the initial filing, and no charging enhancement for domestic abuse was listed in the complaint reviewed Tuesday.
White remained held in the county jail pending the first hearing, where a court commissioner will consider cash bail and scheduling. Detectives continue to search for the handgun and are asking anyone with information about items tossed near Appleton Avenue to contact them, according to police. Prosecutors said further filings could include witness lists and supplemental evidence summaries later this week. A status conference is expected within the next two weeks after the initial appearance, with a preliminary hearing to follow if the case proceeds as a felony bound over for trial.
Outside the motel Monday, a small group of friends and relatives placed flowers near the room door. “Alicia loved her kids. She should have had help, not a headline,” a cousin said. Another family member said she had seen the surveillance stills and confirmed the couple in the images. A motel employee who asked not to be named said management turned over video and records the same day police requested them and that the room was sealed for several days. Guests walking past paused to look at a strip of police tape still tied near a walkway post.
As of Tuesday, investigators had not announced the recovery of the weapon or additional arrests. Court officials said the case docket would be updated following White’s first appearance on Tuesday afternoon. The next milestone is the preliminary hearing date to determine probable cause for trial, expected within 10 days of the initial appearance under Wisconsin procedure.
Author note: Last updated January 21, 2026.