attackers do NOT always use a gun! Gun Control makes women and children safer, right?

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February 18, 2003
Father accused of suffocating children, stabbing wife

DUBUQUE, Iowa (AP) _ A man accused of suffocating his two young children and
stabbing his estranged wife several times said he intended to kill them,
according to police records. Michael Walker, 38, of Dubuque, appeared in
court Tuesday on charges of first-degree murder in the deaths of his
daughter, Lindsay Marie, 9, and his son, James Jordan, 8, and attempted
murder for stabbing his wife, Karen. A preliminary hearing is set for Feb.
27. Walker “indicated that he had intentionally suffocated both Lindsay and
Jordan Walker causing their deaths,” according to a police affidavit.
Walker also indicated he stabbed Karen Walker “with the intention of
killing her,” according to the police document. Karen Walker, 34, called
911 Monday night, saying that Michael Walker was stabbing and “killing
her,” court records said. She was found in her apartment, suffering from
multiple stab wounds, Police Chief Kim Wadding said. Karen Walker was in
critical but stable condition Tuesday at Mercy Hospital. Relatives later
requested that her condition not be released. Firefighters called to the
apartment spotted a man walking in the area who appeared to have blood on
his hands and upper body. Police arrested Michael Walker and took him to a
local hospital to be treated for cuts and bruises. “During that encounter,
it was determined a welfare check was needed” at Michael Walker’s home,
Wadding said. There, police found Lindsay Marie and Jordan James. They
appeared to have been suffocated earlier Monday evening, Wadding said.
Wadding did not know how long the couple had been separated but said it was
a shared custody arrangement. He said police would be checking into the
couple’s background as part of their investigation, which was continuing.
Michael Walker was a Cub Scout troop leader and an active member of the
Dubuque chapter of the United Way for more than six years. “From a business
sense, he was a doer, a good guy to have on the committee,” said Ron
Spillane, executive director of the local United Way. Still, Walker, coach
of the varsity women’s tennis team at Dubuque Senior High School, apparently
had been grappling with some issues. “We had visited with him about some of
the outside issues that we were aware of and he assured us that things were
progressing and going well,” said Principal Larry Mitchell. Mitchell
declined to elaborate on the issues they discussed last September but said
“after we talked, we really had no major concerns.” The news left some in
the city of about 58,000 on the banks of the Mississippi in shock and
grieving. Kathy Kane lives downstairs from Karen Walker in an apartment
complex in western Dubuque. “It’s a little hard to talk about her,” Kane
said, gasping. Lindsay was “like a doll” and Jordan “was real friendly,”
she said. Kane said she heard screams about 9 p.m. Monday but thought they
were coming from a television, or the children chasing each other. “She was
saying, ‘Please don’t do this, please don’t do this,”’ Kane said. The
children attended John Kennedy Elementary School. Lindsay was in fourth
grade and Jordan was in third grade. The older students were told about the
deaths of their classmates, said John Burgart, superintendent of Dubuque
Community Schools. Counselors will be at the school several days, he said.
The fourth graders had a field trip to an outdoor nature center Tuesday
afternoon. “They talked about their classmate and how she would have
enjoyed it,” Burgart said. Karen Walker has worked as a teacher’s aide with
special education students for three years at Lincoln Elementary School.
“Everyone is just heartbroken,” said Principal Donna Loewen. “She’s just
invaluable. Some of the kids at school call her mom. She’s a young woman
with just a lot to share and an obvious love for children that probably
started with the love for her own children.” Kane said Karen Walker worked
a second job at a local motel to make ends meet. “She was a good mother,
she never went anywhere and she just worked those two jobs,” Kane said. “I
can’t believe that he would do that, how could he possibly do that to
them?” Kane asked. The stabbing resulted from a domestic dispute, police
said. The couple married in 1991 and moved to Dubuque from Denver nine years
ago, according to court documents. Karen Walker is a Dubuque native. Michael
Walker is being defended by the Dubuque County public defender’s office.
Walker, who grew up in Emporia, Kan., is the brother of Gazette Publisher
Christopher White Walker and son of Gazette owners Barbara and David Walker.
He was being held Tuesday at the Dubuque County jail on $1.5 million bond.
“Mike is a very kind and caring person, willing to do just about anything
for anyone, and I never would have guessed this would have happened,” said
Christopher Walker