After 13 Years, Corey Stingley’s Family Finally Gets Accountability

More than a decade after Corey Stingley lost his life inside a Wisconsin convenience store, his family has finally reached a moment many believed would never come.

Last Thursday (Jan. 15), a Milwaukee judge accepted guilty pleas from two white men charged in connection with the 2012 killing of the unarmed 16-year-old. Robert W. Beringer and Jesse R. Cole admitted guilt under a deferred prosecution agreement, bringing a formal acknowledgment of responsibility in a case that sat dormant for years. While the deal allows both men to avoid prison time if they meet court-ordered conditions, the pleas mark a critical shift: Corey Stingley’s death is no longer being ignored by the justice system.

Corey was killed after being restrained inside VJ’s Food Mart in West Allis, Wisconsin, over an alleged attempt to steal $12 worth of alcohol. According to the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s Office, he died from asphyxiation following a “violent struggle with multiple individuals,” and his death was ruled a homicide. Despite this, the case went uncharged for years, leaving Corey’s family to grieve without answers or accountability.

That silence didn’t stop Corey’s father, Craig Stingley. For 13 years, he pushed prosecutors, organized, spoke out, and refused to let his son’s name disappear. His persistence ultimately forced renewed attention on the case, leading to charges and a rare restorative justice process that involved direct dialogue between the Stingley family and the men responsible for Corey’s death.

A third man involved in restraining Corey, Mario Laumann, died in 2022 and was never charged, leaving Cole and Beringer as the only defendants. Their guilty pleas to felony murder, even without jail time, represent a hard-fought acknowledgment that Corey’s life mattered and that his death was not an accident or misunderstanding.

The outcome has sparked mixed reactions — relief for a family finally heard, frustration over the lack of incarceration, and renewed conversations about race, accountability, and how long justice can take when systems fail to act. But for Craig Stingley and his family, the pleas close a painful chapter marked by years of resistance and resilience.

After 13 years, Corey Stingley’s name is no longer tied to unanswered questions. It is tied to truth — and to a father who never stopped fighting to make sure his son was seen.

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