On the morning of March 20, a 911 call came in from a home in the Town of Turtle in Rock County, Wisconsin. The woman on the line was not reporting a crime — she was confessing to one.
Tyiece Oninski told authorities she had killed her 14-year-old daughter, Kuren Rein, the night before. The call lasted approximately 13 minutes. When asked if she needed an ambulance, Oninski’s response was chilling.
“She’s dead, honey. She needs a hearse,” she said.
When officers arrived at the home, they found Kuren dead from multiple stab wounds. A knife and its sheath were discovered nearby. Oninski herself had wounds to her neck and wrists, consistent with a suicide attempt she had made following the killing.
According to a criminal complaint reported by WMTV, Oninski initially told authorities during the call that she killed her daughter to “protect her from somebody else.” When pressed further, she identified that person as Elon Musk — the billionaire technology executive and prominent public figure.
Investigators found no evidence connecting Musk to the family in any way. Authorities have not suggested any basis in fact for Oninski’s stated rationale, and the claim appears consistent with severely impaired or delusional thinking at the time of the killing.
Drugs, Evidence, and a Troubling Hospital Moment
Oninski was transported from the scene to a hospital, where a blood test returned positive results for benzodiazepines, amphetamines, and THC — three substances present in her system at the time of the alleged crime.
Investigators also documented a partial bare footprint inside the home. Oninski’s left foot was found to be stained with what appeared to be blood.
During her time at the hospital, Oninski asked a deputy whether her name had appeared in the news. When told it had not, she was reportedly disappointed by the answer.
A Community Rallies Around a Grieving Brother
While legal proceedings now move forward, those who knew Kuren Rein are focused on honoring her memory and supporting the family she left behind.
A GoFundMe campaign launched to help Kuren’s surviving brother — who lost his sister in what organizers described as “a devastating and unthinkable way at the hands of their own mother” — had raised more than $17,000 as of Tuesday evening. The funds are intended to help cover funeral expenses and ease the financial burden on a young man now navigating an unimaginable loss.
“She was loved deeply and will be missed beyond measure,” the fundraiser page reads. “Her life mattered, and she deserves to be honored with dignity and care.”
The death of 14-year-old Kuren Rein at the hands of her own mother stands as one of the most disturbing cases to emerge from Wisconsin in recent memory — a tragedy made all the more incomprehensible by the incoherent reasoning offered in its wake. As the legal process against Tyiece Oninski moves forward, a community is left to grieve a child whose life was cut short under circumstances no family should ever have to confront. For Kuren’s brother, the road ahead is long. The people around him are already trying to make it a little less impossible to walk.
