Walker County Murder Plot Leads To Arrest Of 3 Sisters

FORTUNA, CA — Three sisters are in custody after an extensive search that led to their arrests September 5 and 6. The women allegedly plotted to murder a man in Walker County last year.

A federal grand jury in Birmingham last month indicted Tierzah Mapson, 27, Elisa Ann Mapson, 28 and Charis Mapson, 30, on federal charges stemming from the failed murder conspiracy involving the father of Tierzah’s baby and his new wife.

According to an Alabama Media Group report, all three are indicted on charges including conspiracy, interstate domestic violence, stalking, and use of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence. Tierzah Mapson and Elisa Mapson were arrested in Fortuna, California on Sept. 5 after a manhunt, said Fortuna police Det. Brian Taylor. The third sister was arrested Sept. 6 in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Law enforcement officials said the sisters' plan was to coax the father of Tierzah’s baby and his new wife to Alabama to meet at a place under the guise of a visitation exchange, and then shoot and kill them.

The plan was to be carried out, according to FBI files, June 18, 2018, near a church on Highway 13 in Eldridge, Ala., a small, rural Walker County community about two miles from Interstate 22 and 22 miles northwest of Jasper.

According to a 2014 North Carolina court order, Tierzah had primary custody of the child and the father had a defined visitation schedule that could be modified by agreement. The baby’s father believed he was meeting Tierzah to take the child for a two-week stay. Instead, records show, Tierza and the child never left Florida.

Elisa, however, traveled from Florida to Alabama while Charis traveled from Oklahoma to Alabama. "All three used their cell phones to communicate and coordinate efforts," according to the indictment.

When the father and his wife arrived at the determined location, around 5:40 p.m., the suspects reportedly fired multiple shots at the child’s father and his wife while they sat in their vehicle waiting for the meeting. One round entered the vehicle and struck the victim in the shoulder.

Investigators quickly identified the sisters as possible suspects. On June 22, Tierzah told agents of the FBI she drove from Oklahoma to Daytona Beach. After being confronted with the fact that the truck had been tracked to Alabama, she retracted her claim.

Charis told FBI agents that she was at work when her sister’s ex was shot. She also told them she did not go to Alabama in the summer of 2018 and did not give her phone to anyone who went to Alabama.

The indictment against the sisters was filed Aug. 29. The FBI then notified Fortuna police that the sisters might be hiding out in northern California. The sisters were located a short time later and taken into custody after a brief struggle, according to a police department statement.

Charis remains jailed in Tulsa. Tierzah and Elisa are being held in the Humboldt County Correctional Facility in California. All three are awaiting extradition to Alabama.