From the McKinney Courier-Gazette:
The jury in the Sarah Anne Walker capital murder trial unanimously determined Wednesday after more than three-and-a-half hours of deliberation that the state proved Chanthakoummane, 27, is a future danger to society and should be sentenced to death. Each juror confirmed their vote for 380th District Court Judge Charles Sandoval with a simple “yes it is” or “yes, sir.”
From the McKinney Star Courier-Gazette:
The final day of the punishment phase of Kosoul Chanthakoummane’s capital murder trial came to a somber close as members of Sarah Anne Walker’s family testified how her brutal murder left a mark on their families.
The jury heard from two members of Walker’s family before both sides closed their cases. Jackie Mull, Walker’s younger sister, described the phone call she received from a McKinney Police Department official when she learned her sister had been killed. She said she received a call from McKinney PD Capt. Randy Roland, who advised her to pull over if she was driving. She wondered if something happened to her parents, but she eventually realized her sister, Walker, worked in McKinney.
Mull also said Walker loved spending time with her then-4-year-old son, Josh.“Sarah liked to play with Josh,” Mull said. “He liked to play cars with her. She was also very adventurous. She liked to do fun things like take Josh to Six Flags or the water park.”
Dawn Tate, Randy Tate’s mother and Walker’s mother-in-law, said she feels Josh simply “misses his mom.” Read more »
The Dallas Morning News has a commentary piece on the Sarah Walker case and trial.
“A bizarre murder mystery in Texas!” trumpeted Fox News after Ms. Walker’s body was discovered in a model home at the pricey, squeaky-clean McKinney subdivision where she worked. “Who targeted Sarah Anne Walker, and why? Police are searching for clues and a motive!”…
…Sarah Walker didn’t harbor a dark secret. She had no hidden enemies, no spiteful ex-boyfriend, no stalker nut she had chatted up online. She was just unlucky, about as unlucky as a human being can be.
Her killing was as pointless and petty as any convenience-store stickup and shooting. It’s a less salacious news story than some of us anticipated, but it does not lessen the grief of those who loved her.
The article in todays Dallas Morning News mentions the difference in opinion between Sarah Walkers father, who has publicly forgiven Kosoul, and Sarah’s sister, who feels very different. The local McKinney, Texas newspaper has a lot more to say about it.
From the Dallas Morning News:
“The evidence was overwhelming and showed the brutality of a cold-blooded killer. If the death penalty is reserved for the worst of the worst, I believe Kosul [sic] Chanthakoummane has earned himself a front-row seat,” Ms. Mull said.
From the McKinney Courier-Gazette:
Joe Walker, Sarah Anne Walker’s father, has made it clear he doesn’t want Kosoul Chanthakoummane, the 27-year-old man convicted of murdering his daughter, put to death. And he wants a chance to discuss the matter with Chanthakoummane’s jury during the punishment phase of the trial, which starts today…“I will do everything possible as long I live to prevent that [the death penalty],” Mr. Walker said. “As you probably know in many death penalty cases, the average is about 12 or 13 years before it [the execution] ever comes about. I will do everything possible to prevent that.”
Can you imagine the pain the family is going through? I have three sisters, a brother, and one son. Read more »
From today’s Dallas Morning News:
Both the prosecution and defense agreed that Kosoul Chanthakoummane killed a real estate saleswoman in a model home last year. So there were no gasps or emotional outbursts Wednesday when a Collin County jury found him guilty of capital murder after deliberating for 30 minutes.
Today, that jury will begin considering the case’s main point of contention: whether Mr. Chanthakoummane should spend the rest of his life in prison or receive the death penalty for fatally stabbing, beating and biting Sarah Walker and then stealing her jewelry in July 2006.
“I think the proof of a robbery was circumstantial, but we’re not surprised by the jury’s verdict,” defense attorney Steve Miears said outside the courtroom. “This case is about what the appropriate response is to the murder of Sarah Walker.”
There are a couple interesting details as you read the whole article. Read more »
From the DMN:
The punishment phase of the trial starts Thursday, with jurors considering a life or death sentence.
I’ll give you more info as I get it.
From the Sarah Anne Walker page of the Semper Fi Catholic Forum:
TODAY I WROTE A LETTER TO KOSOUL AND HIS ENTIRE FAMILY..
EXPLAINING I PRAY THE DIVINE MERCY CHAPLET EVERYDAY FOR HIM..
AND ALSO THAT I FORGIVE HIM COMPLETELY. AND HAVE NO ANIMOSITY TOWARDS HIM. I PUT IT IN A COPY OF THE DIARY WITH OTHER MERCY PAMPLETS..
JESUS I TRUST IN YOU
JOSEPH Walker
From todays Dallas Morning News:
A man accused of stabbing a real estate agent 33 times in a McKinney model home last year was found guilty Wednesday morning.
Jurors deliberated just 30 minutes before returning the verdict against Kosoul Chanthakoummane in the killing of Sarah Anne Walker, whose body was found in the kitchen of a model home on July 8, 2006.
I talked to Ed Burgos, a private investigator and self-defense instructor today. Ed is a former cop with the NYPD and is giving a talk to several hundred Realtors in San Antonio about self-defense and why it’s important to us as agents. We talked for about 20 minutes about the Sarah Anne Walker murder in McKinney, Texas and steps agents need to take to protect themselves.
Ed feels real strong about agents having a need for self-defense training. He bounced the idea of including the training in your yearly Realtor dues and requiring all agents to take the class.
Ed said he would get a copy of his presentation to me. I’ll post it as soon as it’s available.
From the Dallas Morning News:
The family spokesman for a Dallas man accused of fatally stabbing a real estate professional in McKinney says that Kosoul Chanthakoummane is innocent and that he doesn’t believe evidence gathered at the crime scene ties his friend to the homicide.
Jason Herrin, boyfriend of Mr. Chanthakoummane’s sister, said Mr. Chanthakoummane, 25, came to Texas seven months ago for a new start after having been in prison since age 16.
“We thought this would be the best place for him, away from his old crowd,” Mr. Herrin said. Mr. Chanthakoummane was released from a North Carolina prison in February after serving seven years of an 11-year sentence for two counts each of aggravated kidnapping and aggravated robbery.
“This was his fresh start. … Do you think he’s going to do something to go back to prison?”
He’s 25 and has already spent seven years in prison? He’s a kidnapper and a robber? Read more »
Will Hicks is an affiliate real estate broker licensed in the State of Tennessee. Prior to his career transition into real estate, Hicks was a SCUBA Instructor with the International ALERT Academy of Big Sandy, Texas and the National Academy of Police Diving, based in Miami, Florida.
Hicks says he’s been asked many times about the odd transition from SCUBA Instructor to Real Estate Agent. “Teaching people how to SCUBA dive was the most fun 10 years of my life. But you can’t eat fun.” You can’t pay the rent with it either.
You can reach Will Hicks in Memphis at (901) 758-5670 or (901) 828-9200.
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