Inset: Aaron Dontay Williams (Auburn Police Dept.). Background: The home where Williams allegedly killed his wife and stepdaughter (WFSA).
A 41-year-old father from Alabama was found in Tennessee and taken into custody for allegedly murdering his wife and stepdaughter at their residence, then abducting his 3-year-old son and fleeing. On Friday morning, state officials canceled the Amber Alert for the missing child, who was recovered without harm, following the arrest of his father, Aaron Dontay Williams, as announced by the authorities.
According to a news release from the Auburn Police Department, officers responded around 2:30 p.m. on Thursday, July 10, 2025, to a call requesting a welfare check at a residence located in the 1200 block of Samantha Court. Upon arrival, first responders reported entering the home and discovering a deceased adult female and a deceased young teen. However, a 3-year-old boy who lived there was missing.
The Lee County Coroner’s Office identified the victims as Tyeisha Williams, 34, and Zynniya Wright, 13, as reported by the Birmingham News reported. The Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences in Montgomery will conduct autopsies on the victims.
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Aaron Williams was soon identified as the husband of Tyeisha Williams and the father of the missing boy. He was not located in the residence and authorities immediately began searching for him. Officials also issued an Amber Alert for the missing child, who they believed was traveling with his father in a gray Honda Accord.
Police said they believed the boy was in “imminent danger,” and offered a reward of $15,000 for information leading to his arrest.
The U.S. Marshals Service, in conjunction with the FBI and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, at about 7:15 a.m. on July 11, 2025, located Aaron Williams and took him into custody.
Authorities did not say where they arrested Aaron Williams, nor did they specify what charges he is facing. He is currently being held in Giles County, Tennessee, without bond as he awaits extradition back to Alabama.
A possible motive for the killings has not been disclosed.
Zynniya’s father told Montgomery NBC affiliate WFSA that he asked a judge last month to have his daughter removed from the home because of Aaron Williams.
“I told them that it was just a matter of time before this guy hurts someone,” he said in an interview with the station.
The Auburn Police Department thanked multiple other law enforcement agencies for assisting in the investigation, including the FBI, the Marshals Service, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, the Gulf Coast Regional Fugitive Task Force, the Alabama Fusion Center, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, the Giles County Sheriff’s Office, Huntsville Community Corrections, the Huntsville SWAT Team, the Alabama Bureau of Pardons and Parole, the Elkmont Police Department, the Madison County Sheriff’s Office, Central Alabama Crime Stoppers, and “the entire Auburn community for all of the assistance they provided to this investigation.”
