Woman And Her Sisters Sentenced For Attempted Murder Of Ex Over Custody Issue

An Oklahoma woman and her two sisters have been sentenced to federal prison in connection with a failed plot to fatally shoot her ex over a custody issue.

On Wednesday, U.S. District Court Judge L. Scott Coogler sentenced Tierzah Mapson, 29,  along with her two siblings Elisa Mapson, 25, and Charis Mapson, 33, to prison after convictions related to the unsuccessful murder attempt, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Alabama.

Tierzah was sentenced to 60 months in prison for conspiracy to commit interstate stalking and discharging of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, two counts of interstate domestic violence and two counts of interstate stalking. Elisa and Mapson were each sentenced 120 months in prison for conspiracy to commit interstate stalking and discharging of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, and two counts of stalking. 

The victim, who has not been named, was shot at near a convenience store in Eldridge, Alabama in June of 2018. He had a child with Tierzah back in 2013, and at the time of the shooting had planned to meet her “halfway between their home in Orlando, Florida, and her home in Tulsa, Oklahoma, to take temporary custody of the child,” according to the press release. They decided on the convenience store as a meeting point.

While the victim and his wife “waited at the store for over four hours, they received text messages from Tierzah Mapson explaining delays in her travel,” the press release states.  “Around 5:40 p.m, the victims heard shots, one of which came through the trunk of their car, hitting the child’s father in the shoulder and lodging in his chest. Store security video showed that as he made two attempts to get out of the car, additional shots hit the ground on his side of the vehicle.”

The two took cover inside the convenience store until the shooting stopped. The victim survived his injuries. Investigators “later determined that the shots were fired by a rifle from a wooded hill behind a nearby church.” It's not clear who was pulling the trigger.

Tierzah and Elisa were not arrested until September of 2019, when they were found hiding out in a California campground, CrimeOnline reported. Charis was arrested in Oklahoma around the same time, Alabama.com reported. 

Investigators alleged they lured the couple to Alabama with the intention to murder them. They noted that their plot included binoculars, disguises and “good luck beads,” Alabama.com reported. Tierzah had primary custody of the child at the time while her ex had a visitation schedule that could be modified by agreement, an agreement that the sisters apparently wanted to terminate.

All three sisters were convicted by a federal jury in the summer of 2021.