Moberly murder suspect pleads guilty to stealing vehicle, escaping custody in separate case

HUNTSVILLE, Mo. (KMIZ)

A woman accused of murdering a Moberly teenager was sentenced to seven years in prison Thursday after pleading guilty to two felonies in a separate case.

Alayna L. Mason pleaded guilty before Judge Scott Hayes to stealing a motor vehicle and felony escape from custody.

Mason was accused of stealing a Randolph County deputy's patrol vehicle as law enforcement was investigating the homicide of Kayla Huff in May. Mason was later charged with first-degree murder and first-degree kidnapping in the death of Huff, whose body was found in a conservation area in Randolph County.

Mason is in the Randolph County Jail, and her next hearing in the murder case is scheduled for Jan. 13.

A man who was accused of harboring Mason after her escape, Skyler Powell, pleaded guilty last week.

The Randolph County Sheriff's Office claims Mason took a deputy's patrol vehicle while she was handcuffed in the front seat on May 7. Deputies said Mason went into an apartment where Powell was staying in the 500 block of South C

lark Street, and that Powell allowed her to enter knowing she had gotten away with a patrol vehicle. The probable cause statement in Powell's case also said that Powell admitted to cutting the chain linking the handcuffs Mason was wearing.

Another suspect, Christopher Woods-Bloss, who is Mason's half-brother, had a hearing Thursday. He pleaded not guilty and was granted a change of judge and change of venue.