In the quiet rural landscape of Wayne County, Missouri, a horrific series of events unfolded in late January 2018 that would ultimately claim the life of 17-month-old Willa Fontaine Million. The tragedy began when 24-year-old Drew Atchison arrived at the home of Willa’s parents, Samara Fontaine Kitts and Harley Michael Million, seeking a place to stay for himself and some acquaintances. When the couple, who were friends with Atchison, turned him away, the situation escalated into violence.
Atchison attacked the couple with a knife, fatally slashing both of their throats inside their residence.
After killing Willa’s parents, Atchison placed their bodies into the bed of their own pickup truck but left the toddler alive inside the home. He locked the 17-month-old girl in a room with dogs and departed the scene, leaving her alone overnight in the house where her parents had just been murdered. Atchison returned the following morning to destroy evidence of his presence. He retrieved Willa from the house and placed her in the truck, where the bodies of her mother and father still lay.
Atchison then drove the vehicle from Wayne County to a wooded property in neighboring Butler County, near Poplar Bluff. It was at this second location that he removed Willa from the truck and shot the young girl in the back of the head. He discarded the weapon in the woods and attempted to conceal his crimes by piling trash and blankets over the bodies of the entire family. The victims were discovered days later, on January 29, 2018, after relatives reported them missing.
Investigators quickly identified Atchison as the suspect, and he confessed to the killings shortly after being taken into custody. He was charged with three counts of first-degree murder, child kidnapping, and armed criminal action. Legal proceedings spanned several years, with the venue eventually moving to Cole County. In December 2023, Atchison pleaded guilty to the charges to avoid the death penalty. In April 2024, he was formally sentenced to five consecutive life terms in prison without the possibility of parole, ensuring he would remain incarcerated for the remainder of his life for the annihilation of the young family.
