Campus Alert Archive
UW-Platteville

Murder-Suicide in Wilgus Hall: Two UW-Platteville Students Found Dead as Finals Are Cancelled

WIshootingemergency notificationmedium confidence
Confirmed Threat

On May 19, 2025, a 911 call just before 4:00 PM CDT reported an incident at Wilgus Hall on the UW-Platteville campus. Police found two women with gunshot wounds. Hallie Helms, 22, an elementary education major from Baraboo, died at the scene from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Kelsie Martin, 22, an assistant resident director and psychology major, was flown to UW Hospital and pronounced dead. All final exams were cancelled.

Alerts
3
Response
—
Killed
1
Injured
0
Institution
University of Wisconsin-Platteville
Public Masters · WI
~6,500 studentsPioneer Alert
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

3 messages in sequence · 3 verified verbatim

INITIAL ALERTmulti-channel
Verified verbatimFOX 11 Wisconsin, quoting Pioneer Alert text135 chars
Emergency: An emergency situation has been reported on campus. Avoid campus and shelter in place. More information will be forthcoming.
The initial Pioneer Alert was sent at approximately 4:24 PM CDT on May 19, 2025, about 24 minutes after the 911 call
The alert used generic language without specifying the location or nature of the emergency
The vague initial message was later supplemented with specific Wilgus Hall information
UPDATEmulti-channel
Verified verbatimFOX 11 Wisconsin, quoting Pioneer Alert text206 chars
Emergency: Avoid the Wilgus Hall area at this time. Pioneer Alerts: Continue to shelter in place if you are on campus and if you are not on campus, please avoid campus. More information will be forthcoming.
This update specified Wilgus Hall as the location, providing crucial information missing from the first alert
The dual instruction — shelter in place if on campus, avoid campus if not — is a best practice for emergency communications
ALL CLEARmulti-channel+39 min
Verified verbatimFOX 11 Wisconsin, quoting Pioneer Alert text260 chars
Law enforcement has confirmed that there is no active threat to the campus community. Emergency responders remain on the scene to provide assistance. Please continue to avoid Wilgus Hall. We will be communicating with residents of Wilgus Hall via campus email.
Sent at approximately 5:03 PM CDT on May 19, 2025, about 39 minutes after the initial alert
The all-clear carefully stated 'no active threat' while noting emergency responders remained on scene, avoiding premature closure
A separate communication channel (campus email) was used for Wilgus Hall residents specifically, acknowledging their heightened need for information
Context

Background

On May 19, 2025, a murder-suicide in Wilgus Hall at UW-Platteville killed two students during finals week. A 911 call just before 4:00 PM CDT reported the incident, and UW-Platteville police found two women with gunshot wounds. Hallie Helms, 22, an elementary education major from Baraboo, died at the scene from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Kelsie Martin, 22, an assistant resident director and psychology major from Beloit, was flown to UW Hospital where she was pronounced dead. Both women were 22 and had graduated just days before the shooting; a later police report found Helms had a documented pattern of concerning searches and writings before fatally shooting Martin and then herself. FOX 11 published the verbatim Pioneer Alert texts, showing three escalating messages. All final exams were cancelled. The Telegraph Herald and CBS 58 provided additional coverage. WKOW reported on the broader campus impact.
Analysis

Key Findings

All three verbatim Pioneer Alert texts are preserved, showing how emergency communications evolved from generic to specific over 39 minutes
The murder-suicide killed an assistant resident director — a student employee responsible for the safety of other residents — adding a layer of institutional tragedy
Finals week timing meant the campus was already under stress, and all remaining exams were cancelled in the aftermath
Outcome
Both women died — Hallie Helms at the scene and Kelsie Martin at UW Hospital. The incident was classified as a murder-suicide. All final exams were cancelled.
Provenance

Sources

  1. News
    UW-Platteville emergency incident, shelter-in-place order (WPR)
    wpr.org
  2. News
    Police respond to active incident at UW-Platteville (FOX 11, with alert texts)
    fox11online.com
  3. News
    UW-Platteville shelter in place (Spectrum News 1)
    spectrumnews1.com
  4. News
    UW-Platteville shooting details (Telegraph Herald)
    telegraphherald.com
  5. News
    UW-Platteville issues shelter-in-place alert (CBS 58)
    cbs58.com
  6. News
    Police report reveals UW-Platteville shooter's online searches, details of murder-suicide (FOX 11)
    fox11online.com
Tags
shootingmurder-suicidedormitorywisconsinuw-systemfinals-cancelledresident-directorverbatim-alerts
Added April 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion