A husband and spouse from Texas have been arrested and charged within the killing of a 17-year-old who was shot on Interstate 170 final week in St. Louis.
Willie Herndon, 43, was charged with first-degree homicide and armed prison motion, whereas his spouse, Taiya Herndon, 45, has been charged with hindering prosecution within the loss of life of Alyssa Wilson, St. Louis County Prosecutor Melissa Worth Smith introduced Monday.
Wilson was driving her automobile on I-170 on her strategy to meet a buddy on the St. Louis Zoo on Oct. 14 when a suspect fired a minimum of one gunshot into the rear of her automobile, in response to courtroom paperwork.
After she was struck by gunfire, Wilson grew to become “incapacitated,” inflicting her to crash into the concrete median wall of the freeway, in response to courtroom data.
Undated photograph of Alyssa Wilson.
Robert Hickman
Wilson was taken to Barnes-Jewish Hospital, the place she was pronounced lifeless, in response to courtroom data.
“Alyssa was 17, enthusiastic about her life, enthusiastic about her future. She had 60 days till she turned 18, and we had been on the brink of take our first household trip collectively to go to Disney for her to see her favourite individual on the earth, Princess Tianna and sadly, she’s not going to get to do this anymore. This was a mindless act,” Alyssa’s father, Robert Hickman, mentioned on the press convention Monday.
Investigators declined to share the motivation for the assault. There isn’t any relationship between the couple and Wilson, Chief Deputy Cmdr. Jack Abell with the Main Case Squad of Higher St. Louis mentioned Monday.
Surveillance video from the realm of the capturing captured a suspect pulling over a white Buick Enclave into the suitable shoulder of Interstate 170. A suspect then exited the passenger aspect of the automobile, and seconds later a gunshot might be heard, in response to courtroom data.
Investigators searach for proof after a husband and spouse from Texas had been going through fees in reference to the loss of life of a 17-year-old who was shot on Interstate 170.
KMOV
Wilson sustained puncture wounds to the again and chest in line with a projectile being fired into the rear of her automobile, in response to courtroom data.
Seconds after the capturing, the suspect returned to the automobile and the automobile fled the scene, in response to courtroom data.
Shortly after the capturing, Wilson’s automobile might be seen crashing, in response to courtroom data.
Investigators mentioned they had been in a position to determine the automobile used within the capturing — and a decal on it — and adopted it to a close-by lodge the place the Herndons had been staying, in response to courtroom data. There, investigators positioned a automobile with the identical decal, however the license plate had modified, in response to courtroom paperwork.
Upon additional investigation, police decided that neither license plate belonged to the automobile, in response to courtroom data.
A firearm was additionally among the many proof gathered by investigators from the Herndons’ lodge room, in response to courtroom data.
Legislation enforcement officals together with Robert Hickman (C), father of Alyssa Wilson, who was killed in a freeway capturing communicate at a press convention in St. Louis, Oct. 19, 2026.
KMOV
Taiya Herndon was seen opening the rear hatch of the automobile on Oct. 16 when police approached her. Willie Herndon emerged from the realm across the lodge shortly after, and commenced operating when he noticed police together with her, in response to courtroom data.
He was apprehended and detained by police, in response to courtroom data.
Willie Herndon has additionally been charged with felon in possession of a firearm. He was beforehand convicted of possession of a stolen automobile, felony receiving identified stolen property and felony housebreaking in two separate instances, in response to courtroom paperwork.
The fees in opposition to Taiya Herndon stem from her allegedly transporting her husband to the state of Illinois after the capturing, in response to Worth Smith.
“Thanks to the foremost case squad, FBI and Metropolis of Overland for getting this taken care of and getting a small piece of justice for our household,” Hickman mentioned.
Willie Herndon is being held on a $1 million money bond and Taiya Herndon is being held on a $500,000 cash-only bond, Worth Smith mentioned.
“No arrest can deliver Alyssa again, however we hope this announcement represents a step towards accountability and justice,” Sgt. Michael Clymer, public info officer with the foremost case squad of higher St. Louis, mentioned Monday.
Whereas investigating Wilson’s capturing, authorities discovered that on Oct. 11, one other automobile was additionally shot at after a white SUV pulled over to the aspect of the street. A shell casing recovered from the scene of that capturing has the identical producer because the casing discovered on the scene of Wilson’s killing, the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Division mentioned.
Additional testing is being achieved to find out whether or not they got here from the identical weapon, in response to courtroom data.
