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Taylor Santiago (Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office).
A mom from Missouri went on a multistate shooting spree, gunning down the fathers of her children — one of whom she killed — along with a woman who was dating one of them, who died as well, according to police.
Taylor Santiago, 31, of Aurora, is facing charges of first-degree murder, robbery, unlawful use of a weapon and endangering the welfare of a child in connection to the Jan. 23 attacks and slayings, which were investigated and reported last week by the Aurora-Marionville Police Department in Missouri and the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office in Arkansas.
“At approximately 1:45 a.m., Taylor Santiago arrived at the Aurora Police and Fire Facility and called from the parking lot, reporting that she had just murdered her estranged husband, Troy Huffman, at her residence,” police officials explained in a Jan. 24 press release. “Officers immediately took Ms. Santiago into custody and responded to her apartment, where they located a deceased male identified as Troy Huffman.”
While in custody, Santiago allegedly confessed to driving to Arkansas earlier in the day to shoot the other biological father of her children and a woman who was dating the man, per Witchita, Kansas, NBC affiliate KSN. She turned herself in after arriving back in Arkansas following the double shooting, officials say.
Aurora Police Chief Wes Coatney told Springfield, Missouri, NBC affiliate KYTV he believes the motive was related to custody issues between Santiago and the two male victims. Coatney said it’s unclear why Santiago drove back to Aurora to turn herself in.
“I don’t know the answer to that,” he told KYTV. “I’m glad she did (turn herself in). I wish she would’ve come to us before she did all of this so we could’ve helped her.”
Santiago lived in an apartment building in Aurora, according to police officials, and her neighbor’s daughter was reportedly home at the time of the shooting attack.
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“This is really sad to happen right next door,” neighbor Karla Rodgers told KYTV. “My daughter was home. She said she didn’t hear anything, but she did hear some banging on the bathroom walls.”
Online records show Santiago, who shared a son with the slain dad, is currently being held at the Lawrence County Jail after being denied bond. Her child endangerment charge stems from Santiago’s daughter being present during the shooting in Arkansas, according to police. That incident left the father of the Santiago’s daughter critically injured, while the child was unharmed.
“At first, she was very nice,” Rodgers said about Santiago, who allegedly began threatening her last year. “I don’t know if something happened. I believe she had gotten into drugs.”