Left: Steven Harris IV (Southern University Marching Band Facebook); top right: Location in Pond, Mississippi where Harris’ body was found in July 2024 (WBRZ/YouTube); Left to right bottom: Allyah Martin, Derek Hollins Jr., Calajia Jack (West Feliciana Parish Sherriff’s Office).
A young mother from Louisiana, aged 21, has been sentenced to over ten years in prison for her involvement in the murder of her child’s 20-year-old father. This tragic event occurred just before the two were due in court for a custody battle.
Allyah Martin entered a plea of no contest to a charge of conspiracy to commit second-degree murder in the 2024 killing of Steven Harris, according to court documents.
Initially facing a charge of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, Martin has now been sentenced to 15 years in a state prison.
The case’s other defendants, Derek Terrell Hollins Jr. and Calajia Jack, are still awaiting their trials in Louisiana on charges of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder. Additionally, Hollins faces charges for allegedly modifying a Glock handgun into a machine gun.
All three defendants are also charged with first-degree murder in Wilkinson County, Mississippi.
As previously covered by Law&Crime, Harris was a criminal justice major and a sophomore at Southern University. He was also a member of the university’s renowned marching band, the Human Jukebox. His disappearance was first reported by his family on July 17, 2024.
Harris’ disappearance caused great concern among his family, as he was scheduled to attend a custody hearing with the mother of his child — Martin — the very next day, according to local CBS affiliate WAFB.
The 20-year-old’s body was found on July 23, 2024, next to a ravine near Pond, Mississippi, ABC affiliate WBRZ reported. He had suffered multiple fatal gunshot wounds and the county medical examiner told the station it appeared that his remains had been discarded at least a week prior to being discovered.
Authorities said the trio conspired with one another to lure Harris to his death.
West Feliciana Parish Sheriff Brian Spillman previously told NBC affiliate WLBT that investigators had developed “strong evidence” that Hollins, Jack and Martin arranged to kill Harris.
Spillman accused the group of using “a Glock handgun with a switch that made it capable of firing in full auto mode to kill Mr. Harris.”
“We believe the plan to commit this crime was hatched here (in Louisiana) and the initial phases leading up to Steven’s death began here in West Feliciana Parish,” he said.
Harris’ mother, LaSonia Harris, spoke to WAFB about her son, saying she believed “his demise was set up” after her son was picked up from his family’s West Feliciana home by someone in an unfamiliar car.
“I’m distraught from losing my son, the circumstances for which I lost my son,” she said. “I’m confused about why did it have to come to this. I’m hurt because I felt like this was an intentional attempt to hurt me and my family and I’m angry because it was unnecessary.”
Anthony Kenney, a former marching band member at Southern University, told local NBC affiliate WVLA that Harris was loved by many. Kenney described him as an “amazing young man, very intuitive, [a] great musician, great friend and leader and colleague amongst his friends.”
Harris and Martin had each previously filed a complaint against the other alleging physical abuse, WBRZ reported. They shared custody over their now nearly 2-year-old child who was mostly living with Martin and the outlet reported that Harris had previously asked a judge to hold Martin in contempt of court after she moved to Texas without notifying Harris, a violation of the couple’s custody agreement.
Following Martin’s sentencing hearing, Harris’ mother told WBRZ that her son’s killer will not ever see her child.
