In the late hours of a cold February evening in Waterloo, Iowa, the life of 42-year-old Black / African American female Tamica Takeisha Allison was brought to a tragic and violent end. On February 10, 2020, police and medics were dispatched to her home around 11:20 p.m., where they discovered a devastating scene. Allison, along with her friend, 41-year-old Andrea Rochelle Anderson, who was visiting at the time, were both found shot to death.
The initial investigation quickly pointed to a
suspect who was intimately familiar with the home and the victims. Authorities identified 36-year-old Mathew Dee Buford III, Allison's boyfriend who also resided in the home, as the person of interest. In the immediate aftermath of the killings, Buford fled the state, prompting law enforcement to issue warrants for his arrest on two counts of first-degree murder. The search for Buford ended a few days later when he surrendered to authorities in Peoria, Illinois.
The subsequent trial revealed the chilling details of that fatal night. Allison's teenage daughter, who was upstairs in her bedroom, testified that she heard her mother's defiant last words, "What are you going to do, shoot me in the face? I don't care, I'm not scared," followed by the sound of two gunshots. When the young girl went downstairs, she was met with the horrific sight of her mother and Anderson on the floor, with Buford holding a gun. After the shootings, Buford took Allison's daughter and her younger brother from the house and dropped them off at other locations before making his escape.
In June 2023, a jury found Mathew Dee Buford III guilty of two counts of first-degree murder and one count of flight to avoid prosecution. Despite pleas from the victims' families for an explanation during his sentencing, Buford offered no motive for his actions. He was subsequently sentenced to two consecutive life sentences in prison, ensuring he would spend the remainder of his life behind bars for the senseless murders of Tamica Allison and Andrea Anderson.
