A 41-year-old father from Alabama has been apprehended in Tennessee for allegedly killing his wife and stepdaughter in their home before kidnapping his 3-year-old son and fleeing.
The Amber Alert for the missing boy was lifted on Friday morning after his father, Aaron Dontay Williams, was arrested, according to authorities.
According to an Auburn Police Department news release, at approximately 2:30 p.m. on Thursday, July 10, 2025, officers responded to a call requesting a welfare check on a residence in the 1200 block of Samantha Court.
First responders said they entered the home and discovered a deceased adult female and an adult juvenile. A 3-year-old boy who also lived in the home was not found inside.
The Lee County Coroner’s Office identified the victims as Tyeisha Williams, 34, and Zynniya Wright, 13, according to the Birmingham News. The Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences will perform autopsies on the victims in Montgomery.
Aaron Williams was quickly identified as Tyeisha Williams’ husband and the father of the missing boy. He was not found in the house, and authorities immediately began looking for him.
Officials also issued an Amber Alert for the missing child, who was believed to be traveling with his father in a gray Honda Accord.
Police said the boy was in “imminent danger,” and offered a $15,000 reward for information leading to his arrest.
The United States Marshals Service, in collaboration with the FBI and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, apprehended Aaron Williams around 7:15 a.m. on July 11, 2025.
Authorities did not say where Aaron Williams was arrested or what charges he faces. He is currently being held in Giles County, Tennessee, without bond while awaiting extradition back to Alabama.
The possible motive for the killings has not been revealed.
Zynniya’s father told Montgomery NBC affiliate WFSA that he petitioned a judge last month to have his daughter removed from the house 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 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” were among the numerous law enforcement agencies that the Auburn Police Department thanked for their contributions to the investigation.
