Tuscaloosa County Man Found Guilty Of Killing Ex-Girlfriend In 2021

TUSCALOOSA, AL — A Tuscaloosa County jury on Thursday found a Duncanville man guilty of killing his ex-girlfriend and leaving her body in the passenger seat of her car on the side of U.S. Highway 82 near the Bibb County line in the summer of 2021.

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As Patch previously reported, Terek Herron-Antone's second trial for the murder of 27-year-old Syibrieka Underwood began this week in the courtroom of Circuit Judge Allen May and saw jurors hear two days' worth of testimony before deliberations began at 2:35 p.m. Wednesday.

Deliberations reportedly went late into Wednesday evening before jurors returned to the courtroom Thursday morning with a verdict at 9:35 a.m.

The jury, consisting of six Black members and six White members, unanimously found Herron-Antone guilty of murder and an additional count of certain persons forbidden from having a firearm.

The jury had also been given the option to convict Herron-Antone of criminally negligent homicide but went along with the request of the District Attorney's Office to convict him of murder.

Judge May informed both sides a sentencing date will be set in the next 30-45 days.

Herron-Antone was first developed as a suspect in the hours after Underwood's body was found slumped in the passenger seat of her car with a fatal gunshot wound to her right temple on July 28, 2021.

Underwood was found with no identification but the Tuscaloosa Violent Crimes Unit received its first major lead when another of Herron-Antone's ex-girlfriends provided an online tip after speaking with Herron-Antone in the hours following the murder.

The ex-girlfriend testified that Herron-Antone told her he killed Underwood during a physical altercation at his home in Duncanville when his gun went off as he was trying to hit her with his arm. He then allegedly told her he disposed of anything that could help identify Underwood and left her body in the passenger seat of her car on the side of the road.

Defense attorney Stuart Albea represented Herron-Antone at trial and argued that there was no evidence directly linking his client to the murder, pointing out that there had been no murder weapon recovered, no DNA or fingerprint evidence or witness testimony that proved it.

Prosecutors presented compelling evidence, with the most crucial being a circular "S" earring in Herron-Antone's yard — the same earring shown on Underwood's left ear in crime scene photos, which showed her missing the right earring on the same side where she had been shot.

The earring recovered at Herron-Antone's house was also near several blood droplets and one larger bloodstain that was later confirmed through forensic analysis to match Underwood's DNA.

"I am pleased for the family of Ms. Underwood’s family after her tragic killing, and I hope that this will help them find much-deserved peace," District Attorney Hays Webb told Patch after the verdict was announced. "I am extremely proud of the efforts of Thomas Marshall and our staff and of their hard work for our community. They strive mightily daily."

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