Woman visiting friend with cancer carjacked, murdered in Houston, career criminal suspect in custody

An 18-year-old Houston man has been arrested and charged after police say he fatally shot a 61-year-old woman in the neck while she was visiting a friend with cancer, then stole a vehicle connected to the victim before leading officers on a chase.

According to Fox 26, Darius DeWayne Hall is accused of the killing of Marietta Allison, who was shot late Friday night in northwest Houston. According to police, officers were called around 11:45 pm to the area of West 20th Street near Lawrence Street, where they found Allison suffering from a gunshot wound on the sidewalk. She was transported to a hospital, where she was later pronounced dead.

Investigators believe Allison had parked and was walking to a friend’s home when she was confronted during a robbery. Police said a vehicle connected to the victim was missing from the scene. Cassie Daniel, Allison’s friend, later shared details of the incident in a public post, saying Allison had been circling the block looking for parking when the shooting happened. “There wasn’t any parking, so Marietta had driven around the block to find a parking spot, and we heard the gunshot,” Daniel said. “We were later told that her heart stopped immediately when he shot her in the neck,” she added.

Daniel also said the suspect took Allison’s purse, stole her car key, and drove off in Daniel’s car. Law enforcement agencies later located the stolen vehicle, triggering a pursuit. According to police, the chase ended after Hall allegedly barricaded himself inside an empty apartment on the Southwest Freeway. He was eventually taken into custody. Hall has been charged with capital murder, evading arrest, and tampering with physical evidence, according to Harris County court records. He was given bonds of $150,000 each on the evading arrest and tampering charges, while bond was denied on the capital murder charge.

Court records also show Hall had been under juvenile community supervision since Oct. 9, 2024, for prior charges, including evading arrest, unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, aggravated robbery, and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. That supervision was scheduled to continue through Oct. 8, 2027.

Records indicate Hall had previously been sentenced to 10 years with the Texas Juvenile Justice Department, with the sentence probated for three years.