Woman shoots estranged husband, then her ex and his girlfriend, Missouri cops say
A 31-year-old Missouri woman is accused of shooting three people in two states, killing two of them, according to police.
Taylor Santiago, of Aurora, was getting coffee at a Casey’s General Store on the night of Wednesday, Jan. 22, when she “decided” to kill her estranged husband, as well as her ex and his girlfriend, according to a detective with the Aurora-Marionville Police Department.
Santiago invited her husband, Troy Huffman, to her home “under the pretenses of seeing a child,” a 12-year-old boy, investigators said.
Santiago and Huffman had a son together, police told KY3.
However, her invitation was a trap, according to police.
When Huffman arrived, Santiago went into the boy’s room and told him to cover his ears because “she was going to take care of the bad guys,” a probable cause affidavit read.
Holding a revolver behind her back, she left the boy’s room and shot Huffman, she told police, according to the affidavit.
He didn’t fall after the first shot, she told police, so she fired again about a second later. According to investigators, Huffman collapsed in front of the door and Santiago said she had to drag him out of the way, then took his keys, stole his car and drove down to Carroll County, Arkansas — a roughly 50-mile drive southeast from Aurora — in order to kill two others.
“During her statement, Ms. Santiago also disclosed that she had driven to Arkansas earlier and shot two additional victims, one of whom was the biological father of one of her children,” Aurora police said.
Santiago shot her ex and his girlfriend, KY3 reported. While Santiago didn’t hurt her child, who was at the home at the time, the girlfriend died and the ex was taken to a hospital in critical condition, police said.
Santiago may have believed she killed her ex, as she went back to Aurora and turned herself into police, telling officers she shot three people to death, the affidavit says.
The killings were likely motivated by child custody issues Santiago had with her estranged husband and her ex, Police Chief Wes Coatney told KY3.
“The Aurora-Marionville Police Department is actively working with the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office in Arkansas to assist with their investigation into the homicide reported in that jurisdiction,” police said.
Santiago was arrested and booked into the Lawrence County Jail on Jan. 23 on charges including murder, robbery, unlawful use of a weapon and endangering the welfare of children, records show.
Aurora is a roughly 190-mile drive southeast from Kansas City.
This story was originally published January 26, 2025 at 2:47 PM with the headline "Woman shoots estranged husband, then her ex and his girlfriend, Missouri cops say."