An Indiana man is charged with murder in the truck stop hit-and-run death of a Lexington mother.

Kentucky's murder statute covers two different theories: killing someone on purpose, and killing someone through wanton conduct showing extreme indifference to human life. A murder charge after a vehicle death does not tell you which one prosecutors will pursue. The family says the crash was targeted. The sheriff's office has only said forensic and digital evidence led to Harris. Leaving the scene is something prosecutors will try to use, but it does not answer who was driving or why. Those questions get answered with evidence in a Montgomery County courtroom, after extradition.

Arionne Harris, 26, of Richmond, Indiana, has been charged with murder in the death of Felicia G. Joseph, 36, of Lexington, the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office announced, according to LEX18 and Law&Crime. Investigators said Joseph was hit by a vehicle on Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2026, in an incident that began in the rear parking lot of the Pilot Travel Center on Owingsville Road in Mount Sterling and continued onto Owingsville Road near the Interstate 64 overpass, LEX18 reported. Deputies were first sent to the truck stop for a 911 hang-up call and a welfare check. Montgomery County Coroner Jimmy Adams identified Joseph. The road was closed for hours while investigators worked the scene.

The U.S. Marshals Service said deputy marshals in Kentucky developed information that Harris was likely near Kansas City, and that deputy marshals in Kansas took him into custody without incident on the morning of Saturday, Oct. 3, in Edwardsville, Kansas. He is to be extradited to Kentucky. The sheriff's office said investigators quickly identified Harris as a suspect using forensic and digital evidence. It has not said what that evidence is or what investigators believe happened in the parking lot. The Marshals Service and the sheriff's office also said Harris was wanted on a Texas warrant for failure to comply with sex-offender registration requirements. That warrant is a separate matter and says nothing about how Joseph died.

Joseph's family has called her death a targeted attack, Law&Crime reported, citing LEX18. Her mother, Janet Martin, told LEX18 that Joseph was 'a vivacious, bold, loving woman with a huge heart,' a mother whose children are now without her, and that the family would not discuss the circumstances while the investigation continues. Joseph would have turned 37 on Sunday, Oct. 4. The sheriff's office credited the Mount Sterling Police Department, Kentucky State Police and the U.S. Marshals Service. A family's belief that a crash was deliberate is understandable. It is not evidence of intent, and the charging decision does not settle it. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.