Dad of Spa Shooting Suspect: 'My Son Is A Good Person'

The father of Brookfield shooting suspect Radcliffe Haughton told Patch Sunday afternoon that his son was in the local car business and that he "put his wife on a pedestal."

But the father—named Radcliffe Haughton Sr.—acknowledged the marriage had problems. He said that his son was a Jamaica native who moved to Milwaukee as an adult.

"I'm his father," his dad told Patch from his home in Florida before his son's body was discovered inside the spa Sunday afternoon. "My son is a good person. I can't tell you what I think happened. My son loved his wife, and he put his wife on a pedestal, and he cared about her. He raised her daughter which he accepts as his stepdaughter, and they have one child together. She is now 13."

The younger Haughton moved to Milwaukee as an adult to manage a Waukesha car dealership, his father said.

"Yes, he is always into the car business. He loved the cars, that was his MO. He could tell you anything about cars. He was a salesperson."

Before Milwaukee, the family lived in Illinois, in Highwood and Northbrook, the father said.

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Asked what had happened, the father said, "I don't know. I'm here in Florida. I just came from from a funeral, and my wife was on the phone and that's how this reached me."

He said the funeral was not for another family member.

Pressed on whether his son had slashed his estranged wife's tires, and why there was a restraining order against him that was just issued in court, the father said: "They have been having problems. I am not going to go into details, lady."

Patch also interviewed a former co-worker of the suspect

The co-worker described Haughton as "very private," said that he had worked with him at Concours Motors a few years ago.

Court records show that the suspect's wages were garnished by the court's system from his job at Concours Motors, 1400 W. Silver Spring Dr., a luxury car dealer. That was as the result of a monetary judgment in a civil case.

"He left there years ago," said the co-worker, who did not want his name used. "He came from International Autos and also worked for Fields in Waukesha. He did work for Concourse Motors as well as numerous other local car dealerships."

International Autos is located in West Allis. Fields is located in Waukesha.

He is also listed online as a manager at a Madison car dealership.

Court and property tax records show that Haughton owned a house in Brown Deer. His Linked In profile states that he is the owner of something called Haughton International Corporations.

The restraining order was filed against him in Milwaukee County Circuit Court on Oct. 18, in which he was prohibited from possessing a firearm. He was also the subject of a disorderly conduct criminal charge in Milwaukee County Circuit Court in 2011, but it was dismissed when an "essential witness failed to appear," according to court records.

People who knew Haughton took to Facebook to write about it.

“I know the shooter. Personally. I’ve known Radcliffe Houghton(sic) for 9 years,” wrote one man. “He lives less than 300 feet from my parent’s house.”

The man continued, “I used to go to Taylor’s with dude...he used to work at the Land Rover dealership in Glendale. He sold me my truck!”

Another woman who knew him wrote on the man’s thread, “he seemed normal too.” She said she had rented to the man and his family when they lived in Bayside.

A photo of a man on a Google website with Haughton's name shows him pointing a gun at the camera. The name of the Brown Deer suspect's estranged wife appears on that man's website as a contact person.