A man who killed his neighbor with a frying pan was sentenced on Friday to 22 years in prison as part of a plea deal, a decision family members of the victim found too lenient.
In May 2020, Cameron Walker, 25, called police in Spokane, Washington to report that he had fought with Wilbur Tankersley, punching him multiple times. Police did not arrest Walker at the time, but when they questioned him, Walker admitted to beating Tankersley “until his soul left his body” according to The Spokesman-Review.
Tankersley’s mother, Valerie McMullin, did not know of her son’s murder until she read it in a news article. After confirming her son’s death to the Spokane County Medical Examiner’s Office, she was informed that she could not see her son’s body.
Walker’s attorney had initially planned for a self-defense argument going into a trial, but due to Walker’s confession, they accepted a plea deal on charges of first-degree murder.
According to Walker’s attorney, Jeff Leslie, a psychologist determined it was likely that Walker had some form of schizophrenia.
At the sentencing hearing during victim impact statements, family members of Tankersley asked the judge to hand down severe punishment, including one suggestion from Tankersley’s grandparents who asked for the death penalty.
“My cousin has taken a frying pan and beat it on the cement trying to understand,” said Ramona Ann Smitch, Tankersley’s cousin reading a statement on behalf of her grandparents said to judge. “None of us can imagine the horror and the horrific way he passed.”
Crystalyn Noel Garrity, Tankersley’s sister, asked the judge to give Walker 36 years, a reference to the age her brother was when he was killed.
Ultimately, the judge decided that the prosecutor’s suggestion of a 264-month sentence was sufficient due to Walker’s clean record prior to this murder conviction.
“I guess he just wasn’t important enough to them,” McMullin said after the hearing.
