A man accused of killing his 78-year-old grandmother told police that he was angry with her for chastising him about leaving a light on in the house, court records show.
Benjamin W. Walker appeared Tuesday morning in Clark County Superior Court on suspicion of first-degree murder in the slaying of Joan Walker early Monday morning at their Washougal home. The 27-year-old man turned himself in at the Washougal Police Department afterward.
Senior Deputy Prosecutor Abbie Bartlett told the court that Benjamin Walker — who appeared wearing a suicide-prevention smock — “brutally” killed his grandmother and has shown no remorse. She asked Judge Scott Collier to set Walker’s bail at $1 million, which he did.
Collier appointed defense attorney Jeff Sowder to represent Walker. Sowder presented a motion to preserve Joan Walker’s body for possible additional examination. The court will address the issue at a hearing Wednesday.
According to an affidavit of probable cause, Benjamin Walker went to the police department about 6 a.m. and confessed to killing his grandmother. Camas police officers responded to the home at 3326 H St., to check on her welfare and found her dead inside.
Two other residents were inside the home but were not aware of the incident until officers arrived, the affidavit said.
Walker told detectives he drank a six-pack and a 32-ounce can of beer late Sunday night and into early Monday morning. He was angry with his grandmother, he said, because she confronted him the evening before about leaving a light on in the house. Walker said she frequently chastised him for leaving lights on and using too much water while showering, court records state, so “he decided her and his fate.”
He walked into her bedroom, where she was sleeping, jumped on top of her and began strangling her, Walker said. The woman tried to fight back, but her grandson overpowered her, according to court documents.
When she stopped moving, Walker said, he wanted to make sure she was dead. He was “physically exhausted from choking” his grandmother, he said, so he went to the kitchen and grabbed a knife, the affidavit states.
Walker said he used the knife to cut his grandmother’s throat. Afterward, he left the knife next to her body, went to the bathroom to wash his hands and then walked to the police department. He told police the thought of killing his grandmother came to him that morning, court records said.
He told court officials that he “feels he has an issue with alcohol,” an interview sheet shows.
Walker will be arraigned Friday.
