A Texas couple was charged this week in the fatal highway shooting of a 17-year-old high school girl who was driving to the zoo for a Halloween celebration. The St. Louis County Prosecutor’s Office in Missouri charged Willie Herndon, 42, with first-degree murder and armed criminal action in connection with last week’s attack, which killed Alyssa Wilson, authorities said Monday. Taiya Herndon, who investigators say is his wife, is charged with hindering prosecutors, accused of taking her husband to an Illinois hotel 12 miles from St. Louis, prosecutor Melissa Price Smith said at a news conference Monday. It’s unclear if either of the two, from Arlington, Texas, has an attorney. The state public defender’s office for the area did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The attack killed Alyssa, who was on the verge of adulthood and optimistic about the journey ahead, her father, Robert Hickman, said at the news conference. “Alyssa was 17 years old, she was excited about her life, excited about her future,” she said while crying. Wednesday, as Alyssa was driving south on Interstate 170 in Overland. Missouri, just northwest of St. Louis, said Jack Abell, deputy commander in chief of the region’s Major Case Squad. He was on his way to the Halloween festivities at the St. Louis Zoo, known as “Boo at the Zoo,” Abell said. According to the security video, Alyssa was traveling south and had just passed a white Buick Enclave that was stopped on the shoulder when the sound of a single bullet was heard, Abell said at the news conference. “A person exited the vehicle and remained outside for a short period of time,” he said. “There was a gunshot, I got back in the vehicle. The vehicle turned off its emergency lights and kept going,” Robert Hickman said at a news conference in St. Louis on Monday. KSDKThe bullet went through the back of the red Buick Encore Alyssa was driving, Abell said. First responders found Alyssa with a gunshot wound, he said. She was rushed to Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, where she was pronounced dead. The Herndons had no connection to the girl, Abell said. Wilson was 60 days shy of turning 18, said Hickman, his father. “We were getting ready to take our first family vacation together to go to Disney so she could see her favorite person in the world, Princess Tiana,” he said, referring to the character from the animated film “The Princess and the Frog.” “Unfortunately, he won’t be able to do that anymore,” Hickman said. “This was a senseless act.” The couple was found after investigators used security video of the shooting, as well as automatic license plate readers, to track that Buick, which had an out-of-state registration, Abell said. The vehicle was under surveillance for “long hours” before investigators saw the couple leaving the hotel in Caseyville, where they were detained Friday, he said. A search approved by a judge in Illinois turned up a gun, as well as “supporting evidence,” Abell said, and investigators were analyzing a shell casing found along the highway in Overland. Major Crimes Unit investigators interviewed Willie Herndon, he said, and gained a better understanding of the crime. “During the interview, Willie Herndon provided details regarding his involvement in the incident and additional information related to possible ongoing investigations in other areas,” Abell said. “Those investigations continue as we speak.” The region’s top prosecutor, Price Smith, said the charges were filed in Missouri on Friday. Bail in those cases was set at $1 million for Willie Herndon and $500,000 for Taiya Herndon, which will be paid in full, the Major Case Squad said in a statement. The two were being held while prosecutors awaited extradition to Missouri, authorities said. Inmate records from the St. Clair County Jail in Illinois show Taiya Herndon is being held on an out-of-state warrant without bail. Records say she was booked on Saturday. There were no prison records available for Willie Herndon. Along with about 20 investigators from the Major Crimes Unit, the case received help from authorities everywhere, authorities said. related to the attack were still under investigation.
