Couple charged in fatal shooting of 17-year-old on her way to zoo

A husband and wife from Texas have been arrested and charged in the killing of a 17-year-old who was shot on Interstate 170 last week in St. Louis.

Willie Herndon, 43, was charged with first-degree murder and armed criminal action, while his wife, Taiya Herndon, 45, has been charged with hindering prosecution in the death of Alyssa Wilson, St. Louis County Prosecutor Melissa Price Smith announced Monday.

Wilson was driving her vehicle on I-170 on her way to meet a friend at the St. Louis Zoo on Oct. 14 when a suspect fired at least one gunshot into the rear of her vehicle, according to court documents.

After she was struck by gunfire, Wilson became “incapacitated,” causing her to crash into the concrete median wall of the highway, according to court records.

Wilson was taken to Barnes-Jewish Hospital, where she was pronounced dead, according to court records.

“Alyssa was 17, excited about her life, excited about her future. She had 60 days until she turned 18, and we were getting ready to take our first family vacation together to go to Disney for her to see her favorite person in the world, Princess Tianna and unfortunately, she’s not going to get to do that anymore. This was a senseless act,” Alyssa’s father, Robert Hickman, said at the press conference Monday.

Investigators declined to share the motivation for the attack. There is no relationship between the couple and Wilson, Chief Deputy Cmdr. Jack Abell with the Major Case Squad of Greater St. Louis said Monday.

Surveillance video from the area of the shooting captured a suspect pulling over a white Buick Enclave into the right shoulder of Interstate 170. A suspect then exited the passenger side of the vehicle, and seconds later a gunshot can be heard, according to court records.

Wilson sustained puncture wounds to the back and chest consistent with a projectile being fired into the rear of her vehicle, according to court records.

Seconds after the shooting, the suspect returned to the vehicle and the vehicle fled the scene, according to court records.

Shortly after the shooting, Wilson’s vehicle can be seen crashing, according to court records.

Investigators said they were able to identify the vehicle used in the shooting — and a decal on it — and followed it to a nearby hotel where the Herndons were staying, according to court records. There, investigators located a vehicle with the same decal, but the license plate had changed, according to court documents.

Upon further investigation, police determined that neither license plate belonged to the vehicle, according to court records.

A firearm was also among the evidence gathered by investigators from the Herndons’ hotel room, according to court records.

Taiya Herndon was seen opening the rear hatch of the vehicle on Oct. 16 when police approached her. Willie Herndon emerged from the area around the hotel shortly after, and began running when he saw police with her, according to court records.

He was apprehended and detained by police, according to court records.

Willie Herndon has also been charged with felon in possession of a firearm. He was previously convicted of possession of a stolen vehicle, felony receiving known stolen property and felony burglary in two separate cases, according to court documents.

The charges against Taiya Herndon stem from her allegedly transporting her husband to the state of Illinois after the shooting, according to Price Smith.

“Thank you to the major case squad, FBI and City of Overland for getting this taken care of and getting a small piece of justice for our family,” Hickman said.

Willie Herndon is being held on a $1 million cash bond and Taiya Herndon is being held on a $500,000 cash-only bond, Price Smith said.

“No arrest can bring Alyssa back, but we hope this announcement represents a step toward accountability and justice,” Sgt. Michael Clymer, public information officer with the major case squad of greater St. Louis, said Monday.

While investigating Wilson’s shooting, authorities learned that on Oct. 11, another vehicle was also shot at after a white SUV pulled over to the side of the road. A shell casing recovered from the scene of that shooting has the same manufacturer as the casing found at the scene of Wilson’s killing, the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department said.

Further testing is being done to determine whether they came from the same weapon, according to court records.