Judge: Teenager Charged in Parents’ Deaths Not Competent

Judge: Teenager Charged in Parents’ Deaths Not Competent
Michael Elijah Walker. (Oklahoma County Sheriff's Office via AP)

OKLAHOMA CITY—An Oklahoma judge says a 19-year-old man accused of fatally shooting his parents and who is described by his attorney as “very mentally ill” isn’t competent to be tried for first-degree murder.

Michael Elijah Walker was remanded to the custody of the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services on Wednesday, June 19 and was committed to a state mental health hospital for treatment.

Walker is charged in the March 4 shooting deaths of 50-year-old Michael Logan Walker and 44-year-old Rachel Walker at their home in the Oklahoma City suburb of Edmond.

An affidavit says Walker’s sibling told police his older brother “shot their parents because they were sending him messages telepathically and they were Satan worshippers.”

Michael Walker’s defense attorney, Derek Chance, on Thursday called Walker “acutely paranoid and delusional.”

Michael Logan Walker’s sister, Maya Walker, made a brief statement to reporters on March 12 following funeral services for the slain couple, alluding to her nephew’s mental difficulties.

“Please see it soon enough before it happens to your family because all of us now in hindsight are realizing the pieces we’re putting together now, we didn’t recognize,” she said.

“We hope and pray for the best possible outcome (and) for Eli, my nephew, to get the best care possible,” Walker said.

It has not been revealed whether Walker had been diagnosed with, or was undergoing treatment for, a mental illness.

“We have not confirmed that yet as an official medical diagnosis, not saying it isn’t true,” police spokeswoman Jenny Wagnon said. “That’s something we will likely be asked to do by the DA’s office.”

Wagnon said two pistols and an AR-15 rifle found in the home shortly after the slayings were purchased by one of the parents but declined to say which parent.

Wagnon said police were also trying to determine where materials were acquired for four small homemade bombs found in the home and later detonated by a bomb squad.

“We’ll be going through phones and computers, looking for receipts to try to find out how they were purchased … that’s part of our investigation,” Wagnon said.

Meredith Davis, a spokeswoman for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, said the agency is aware of the case and available to assist if asked.

By Ken Miller

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