An 18-year-old Houston man was arrested on federal carjacking charges and state murder charges related to the shooting death of a 61-year-old Austin woman.
Darius Dewayne Hall faces federal carjacking and firearms charges stemming from the March 6 shooting. He also faces a capital murder charge in Harris County’s 496th Criminal District Court.
The victim, identified as Marietta Allison, lived in Austin but had traveled to Houston to support her friend Cassie Daniel, who was receiving her first chemotherapy treatment at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. She dropped Daniel off at another friend’s apartment on West 20th Street in the Heights neighborhood, parked her 2019 Toyota Highlander on the street, and started walking back to the complex.
Court paperwork states that witnesses heard a woman scream, followed by a loud popping sound. Hall, wearing a ski mask, gloves, and a hooded jacket, reportedly tried to rob Allison, who resisted. He then allegedly shot her and took the car keys from her purse before driving away in the Highlander.
Houston police patrol officers arrived and found the woman suffering from a single gunshot wound to the neck. She received treatment at Memorial Hermann Hospital but later died.
Officers from multiple agencies located the Highlander and tried to stop it. The SUV sped away, leading to a brief pursuit that ended in a crash. Hall then allegedly ran on foot.
Documents indicate Hall wore clothing matching what witnesses saw at the shooting scene. Officers later recovered clothes he discarded while fleeing.
Hall barricaded himself inside an empty apartment. Houston police took him into custody, charged him, and booked him into the Harris County Jail.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office states the federal carjacking charge carries a potential sentence of life in prison or the death penalty. The related firearms charge calls for 10 years to life. Conviction on each offense includes a possible fine of $250,000.
Hall is due in federal court on March 23. At the time of the alleged shooting and hijacking, Hall was on probation for aggravated robbery, motor vehicle theft, and aggravated assault.
Friends described Allison as a kind and selfless person.
“She cut her trip short from Istanbul to take care of her friend when she was diagnosed with cancer and that is who she was,” Karin Galindo said, Click 2 Houston reported. “She was an amazing soul, a bright, bright light in this world, lived her life to the fullest in abundance, lived her life like every day was her last.”
“Her number one mission was to help me beat this cancer,” Daniel told KHOU11. “She was even putting some of their work on hold depending when my surgery was going to be so that she could take care of me. That’s not normal. That kind of love is not what you experience every day.”
“Marietta was so rooted in love for every single person on this planet regardless of what walk of life you came from,” another friend said, per Click 2.
State Rep. Candy Noble asked for prayers for Daniel, who is her chief of staff, and for Allison’s family.
“My precious Chief of Staff Cassie, has cancer, and while in Houston on Friday for Cassie’s chemo, her dear friend Marietta was tragically and senselessly murdered,” Noble posted on X. ” Please join me in prayer for Cassie and for Marietta’s family as they deal with this unthinkable loss.”
In another post, Noble wrote, “We believe in second chances and fresh starts. However, when a juvenile with a violent past becomes an adult with a violent present, the public should … have all that information. I will be filing that bill.”
