An Austin woman who was in Houston helping a friend through chemotherapy treatments was identified as the victim of a fatal shooting over the weekend, prosecutors said.
Marietta Allison, 61, had driven a friend from Austin to Houston on Friday to receive treatment at the MD Anderson Cancer Center. The friends were planning to spend one day and one night together, along with the friend’s father. Shortly after midnight Saturday, Allison dropped off her friend and their luggage at an apartment and drove around the block to find street parking when prosecutors said she was confronted by an 18-year-old, Darius Hall.
Hall is accused of shooting Allison and stealing the car before fleeing, prosecutors said. When police responded to the shooting on West 20th Street in the Houston Heights neighborhood, they found Allison lying on the sidewalk. First responders took Allison to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
The missing car was later found with Hall behind the wheel, prompting a police chase that ended with Hall crashing near the Southwest Freeway feeder at Buffalo Speedway. Prosecutors said he then broke into a vacant townhome and barricaded himself for several hours before he was apprehended and taken into custody by a SWAT unit.
Law enforcement later found two guns in the totaled car.
Allison was married and had two adult children, one of her friends told Hearst Newspapers.
The friend who received the chemotherapy treatments, Cassie Daniel, identified herself in a Facebook post and described her recollection of the night’s events, calling Marietta her “sis.”
Before the shooting, Daniel had written a Facebook post about the chemotherapy treatment and expressed gratitude for her father and Allison, who both accompanied her to the hospital.
“We left the house at 8:30am,” Daniel wrote. “They have lugged bags, driven wheelchairs, takeoff and put on socks multiple times. I am so blessed!!”
The shooting happened just hours after the post was published.
Daniel is a member of the Texas Federation of Republican Women, and the group made a Facebook post calling for prayers after the incident.
“Marietta was a beautiful soul who loved Cassie as a sister and was helping Cassie walk through this cancer journey,” wrote Jill Tate, president of the group. “Please continue to lift Cassie, her family, and Marietta’s family in prayer.”
Hall has been charged with capital murder, evading arrest and tampering with evidence in connection with Allison’s death. He is scheduled to appear in court March 23, when a judge will decide whether to deny bail.
Court documents show Hall was under juvenile supervision for four previous charges, including aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, at the time of his arrest.