A Texas couple have been arrested and charged in the death of 17-year-old Alice Wilson, who was shot while driving on Interstate I-170 near St. Louis, Missouri. Willie Herndon has been charged with first-degree murder and armed criminal action, and his wife, Taya Herndon, has been charged with hindering prosecution.
The shooting occurred on Oct. 14. Wilson was traveling to the St. Louis Zoo to meet a friend. According to court documents, a shot was fired into the back of her car. After being injured, she lost control of the car, which crashed into the concrete divider of the highway. The girl was taken to the hospital, but doctors were unable to save her life.
Investigators say that video footage from the area shows a white SUV stopped in the emergency lane of the southbound lane of I-170, south of St. Charles Rock Street. A man got out of the vehicle, after which a shot was fired. He then returned to the vehicle, and the driver drove away.
According to ABC News, police identified the vehicle by a distinctive sticker and traced it to a hotel in Caseyville, Illinois. Upon inspection, it was determined that the license plates did not belong to the vehicle. A firearm was found in the hotel room, and Willie Herndon was taken into custody after attempting to flee. He is also charged with unlawful possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
The wife is accused of helping him leave the state
The charge against Taya Herndon relates to the allegation that she transported her husband to Illinois after the shooting. Both are from Arlington, Texas, and are being held in St. Louis County pending extradition.
Willie Herndon is being held on $1 million cash bail, while Taya Herndon is being held on $500,000 cash bail. Various media outlets have given Willie's age as 42 or 43, while Taya is 45. The charges are not a proven offense and are pending a trial.
“This was a senseless act,“ said the victim's father, Robert Hickman, during a press conference. He said his daughter was about 60 days away from turning 18 and the family had been planning their first vacation together to a “Disney“ park.
Link to other shooting being investigated
Investigators have not yet announced a motive for the attack. During the investigation, authorities learned that another vehicle was also shot at on Oct. 11 after a white SUV pulled over on the side of the road. The shell casing from that shooting was made by the same manufacturer as the one found at the scene of Wilson's murder. Additional tests should determine whether the two casings were fired from the same weapon.
Sources: abcnews.com, cbsnews.com, firstalert4.com