Cape man gets 15 years from plea deal in baby death case

BENTON, Mo. -- The Cape Girardeau man accused of killing his infant son in August 2010 admitted Monday, minutes before jury selection was set to begin for his murder trial, to fatally striking the child.

Allen R. Walker Jr. was charged with second-degree murder and child endangerment stemming from his 7-week-old son's death on Aug. 26, 2010. While the jury pool waited for selection to begin Monday in the Scott County Courthouse, Walker admitted to Judge Benjamin Lewis that he struck his son but did not intend to kill him, Cape Girardeau County Prosecuting Attorney Morley Swingle said.

"It was a surprise to everybody," Swingle said. "I thought there was going to be a trial."

Swingle said he dropped the child endangerment charge because Walker pleaded guilty. In addition to the plea, Walker waived his right to a presentence investigation and received a 15-year sentence. Per Missouri's "truth in sentencing" law, Walker must serve 85 percent of the term.

Walker had been on probation after he pleaded guilty to beating his dead child's mother in 2008, Swingle said. Monday's murder conviction violated Walker's probation, and he will serve a five-year sentence concurrent with his 15-year sentence, Swingle said.

Had he not pleaded guilty and been convicted, Walker would have faced 10 to 30 years in prison, Swingle said.

The victim's mother, Ashley Locklear, agreed that a 15-year sentence was adequate, Swingle said.

A call to Walker's attorney, Mary Patricia Tucker, was not returned Monday.

Walker was watching his infant twins Aug. 22, 2010. When Locklear came home that day, Walker told her not to check on the children because he had just put them down for a nap. Locklear made dinner for the couple before checking on the infants.

Locklear looked in on the infants after dinner and noticed bruises on her son's face and head, she testified in September 2010.

After scans and X-ray examinations at a hospital, the infant was airlifted to a hospital in St. Louis. Doctors in Cape Girardeau and St. Louis discovered skull fractures, bruising on the child's face and rib fractures that were already healing at the time of the child's death, according to court records.

The infant died four days later on Aug. 26, 2010.

Walker told police that the child sustained the injuries when a playpen fell on him while Walker was watching him, according to court records.

The responding police officer's sworn affidavit notes that the child's injuries appeared consistent with Walker's wedding band.

During a preliminary hearing in August 2010, Dr. Jane Turner, an assistant medical examiner for the city of St. Louis, said she found skull fractures and bleeding around the brain and in the retinas. The injuries were not consistent with what Walker told police, Turner testified.

Although Walker did not intend to kill the child when he struck him, the child's death still warranted a murder charge, Swingle said.

"It's still felony murder because he was putting the child at risk," Swingle said.

The trial was slated to begin in October but was pushed back because Walker got a new lawyer. Walker claimed he had trouble communicating with his first attorney, Michelle McMahon of St. Louis, and that she was not sharing information with him.

In a letter to Lewis, Allen Walker's sister, Nicole Walker, wrote that her family paid more than $2,000, but that McMahon said they hadn't made payments.

Communication between McMahon and Allen Walker was open, McMahon wrote in a response to Nicole Walker's letter. McMahon said in the response that she agreed with Allen Walker's request to get a new attorney but argued that she was never paid.

In May, Allen Walker was charged with possession of a controlled substance after a deputy at the Cape Girardeau County Jail found two marijuana joints in Walker's cell, according to a probable-cause statement.

Assistant prosecutor Angel Woodruff dismissed the charge Monday.

The jury pool waited in the Scott County Courthouse in Benton for more than half an hour Monday. Shortly after 9 a.m., Scott County Sheriff Rick Walter approached the front of the courtroom and dismissed the pool.

psullivan@semissourian.com

388-3635

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131 S. Winchester St., Benton, MO