Milwaukee judge sentences Christian Martin to life prison term in 2024 bus stop homicide case

Life sentence imposed after jury conviction

A Milwaukee County judge on Feb. 26, 2026, sentenced Christian Martin to life in prison for the fatal shooting of 15-year-old Nelson Manuel Lopez Correa at a south-side bus stop. The court set Martin’s earliest eligibility for extended supervision at 45 years.

Martin was convicted in December 2025 of first-degree intentional homicide following a three-day jury trial. Court proceedings described the killing as a single-shot attack that occurred in broad daylight and was captured on nearby surveillance video that was played during sentencing.

What investigators said happened at 16th Street and Forest Home Avenue

The shooting occurred on Oct. 28, 2024, near South 16th Street and West Forest Home Avenue, where Lopez Correa was waiting for a bus to school with friends. Prosecutors alleged Martin, who was 18 at the time, shot the teen after becoming angry over a relationship breakup earlier that summer. Prosecutors stated Martin and the victim did not know each other.

Lopez Correa was transported to the hospital and died days later, on Nov. 1, 2024, without regaining consciousness.

• Date of shooting: Oct. 28, 2024
• Location: bus stop near S. 16th St. and W. Forest Home Ave.
• Victim: Nelson Manuel Lopez Correa, 15
• Conviction: first-degree intentional homicide (jury verdict in December 2025)
• Sentence: life imprisonment; extended supervision eligibility set at 45 years

Arrest and court process

After the shooting, Martin left Wisconsin and was later arrested in Iowa following a traffic stop. He was returned to Milwaukee County to face the homicide case, which proceeded through charging, trial, and sentencing over more than a year.

Sentencing hearing marked by victim impact statements

During the Feb. 26 sentencing hearing, family members and friends of Lopez Correa attended and delivered impact statements describing the personal and long-term effects of the killing. The judge sharply criticized Martin’s conduct and lack of accountability during the hearing, and Martin did not address the court or the victim’s family when given the opportunity.

The court’s sentence requires Martin to serve decades in prison before any potential consideration for extended supervision.

How Wisconsin handles life sentences and extended supervision

Wisconsin’s sentencing structure for life imprisonment in crimes committed after 1999 requires courts to set an extended supervision eligibility determination, which can be set later than 20 years or denied entirely, depending on the case. In this case, the court set eligibility at 45 years, a decision discussed in court in the context of sentencing standards that account for the defendant’s age at the time of the offense.

The case centers on a fatal shooting at a public transit stop as the victim waited for a school bus, and it concludes at the trial-court level with a life sentence and a fixed timeline for any future supervised-release consideration.