Woman Sentenced for Fatal, Multi-State Shooting Spree of Children's Fathers

This week, Taylor Santiago was sentenced to life without parole for first-degree murder, 30 years for first-degree robbery, four years for unlawful use of a weapon and seven years for first-degree endangering the welfare of a child, per Ozarks First.

Her sentences will reportedly be served consecutively.

According to a Lawrence County Sheriff's Office press release, Santiago allegedly confessed to shooting the fathers of her two children -- killing one -- and a woman dating one of the men in January 2025. The woman also died.

Santiago confessed to the January 23 bi-state shootings at approximately 1:45 a.m., per the press release. She was purportedly sitting in the parking lot of the Aurora Police and Fire Facility when she called and reported she'd murdered her estranged husband, Troy Huffman, at their home.

After the call, the suspect was immediately taken into custody and officers were dispatched to her apartment, where they did find Huffman deceased. But Santiago wasn't done confessing her crimes.

According to The Kansas City Star, Santiago told police she was getting coffee at a Casey's General Store on the night of Wednesday, January 22, when she "decided" to kill her estranged husband, as well as her ex and his girlfriend.

She purportedly said she convinced Huffman to come to her home "under the pretenses of seeing" their 12-year-old son. Santiago said the boy was present during the shooting, but is uninjured.

In their probable cause statement, investigators said that when Huffman arrived, Santiago told their son to cover his ears in his room as "she was going to take care of the bad guys." She then allegedly came out of his room with a revolver behind her back and shot Huffman, per the documents.

Santiago told police that her next move was to drag Huffman's body out of her doorway, according to the affidavit, take his keys and steal his car, with which she drove the 50 miles toward her next intended victims.

Once in Carroll County, Arkansas, Santiago said she made her way to the home of her daughter's father. Both his girlfriend and Santiago's daughter were home when she arrived, according to the affidavit, at which point she allegedly shot both adults.

The Aurora-Marionville Police Department has partnered with the Carroll County Sheriff's Office in Arkansas to investigate these shootings in Arkansas.

Speaking with Wichita, Kansas NBC affiliate KSN, the Carroll County sheriff confirmed that their deputies had been dispatched to a home after reports of an unknown disturbance.

There they found a man and woman had been shot. The woman was pronounced dead at the scene, per the news outlet, while the man was transported to the hospital in critical condition.

When Santiago called police after her return to Aurora, she told them she'd killed three people, per the arrest affidavit, so she appeared unaware that one of her intended victims had survived.

Aurora Police Chief Wes Coatney told Springfield, Missouri NBC affiliate KYTV that he believes her motive for the shootings was concern over custody issues between her and the fathers of her children.

As for why she turned herself in to police after the shootings, Coatney admitted, he didn't know -- but added,  "I'm glad she did. I wish she would've come to us before she did all of this so we could've helped her."