'His demise was set up': Mom lured toddler's dad to his death ahead of contentious custody hearing

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 21-year-old mother in Louisiana will spend more than a decade behind bars for her role in the murder of the 20-year-old father of her child shortly before the pair were scheduled to appear in court for a custody hearing.

Allyah Martin on Monday pleaded no contest to one count of conspiracy to commit second-degree murder in the 2024 slaying of Steven Harris, records show.

Martin, who had initially been charged with conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, was ordered to serve 15 years in a state correctional facility.

Martin's co-defendants in the case, Derek Terrell Hollins Jr. and Calajia Jack, are still awaiting trial on conspiracy to commit first-degree murder charges in Louisiana. Hollins is also charged with possession of a machine gun for allegedly converting his Glock handgun into an automatic weapon.

All three defendants are still facing first-degree murder charges in Wilkinson County, Mississippi.

As Law&Crime previously reported, Harris was a sophomore at Southern University studying criminal justice and was a member of the school's marching band known as the Human Jukebox. He was first reported missing by family members 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.