Inset: Darryl Walker (Escambia County Sheriff”s Office). Background: The apartment complex where the incident allegedly took place in Pensacola, Fla. (Google Maps).
A Florida man, accused of the fatal shooting of his wife under suspicious circumstances as the family prepared for Thanksgiving, is set to face trial next week.
Darryl Walker, 38, stands accused of one count each of murder in the second degree and being a felon in possession of a deadly weapon.
On the morning of November 22, 2023, 35-year-old Sheena Marie Levine was found dead at the couple’s home in the Aqua Porta apartment complex on Meadson Road, Pensacola.
And, at least publicly, no one is quite sure why.
According to reports from the Pensacola News Journal and Pensacola’s ABC affiliate WEAR, the defendant contacted his daughter in a distressed manner that day.
Around 5 a.m., Walker allegedly confessed during a call to his daughter that he had “messed up” and repeatedly said “she grabbed the gun,” according to the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office.
The daughter inquired about her mother’s well-being but received no direct response from her father, who reportedly went silent, as per court documents obtained by Law&Crime. She then alerted her younger brother and insisted they head to their mother’s place.
After that urgent and disturbing call, the man’s daughter and son rushed over to their parents’ apartment. They banged on the door until their father let them in to discover the worst, deputies say.
“(The daughter) stated that once inside, she asked where Levine was and then she observed Levine laying on her side by the bathroom door covered in blood,” the arrest reports reads. “(She) stated that Walker walked over to Levine, stood over her, and then he reached down to hug her.”
Levine did not have a pulse by the time the pair arrived, law enforcement claims. Walker, for his part, was also found covered in blood.
“[The daughter] asked [Walker] why he didn’t call 9-1-1 to which he gave her a weird stare and did not respond,” deputies wrote.
Then the alleged killer went to retrieve the gun from near his wife’s body and made to leave, the daughter allegedly told investigators. Before the defendant’s departure, he allegedly said: “Baby, I gotta go. I can’t go back to jail.”
The man’s daughter told investigators she found a lone shell casing in the bathroom before calling 911. Levine was pronounced dead at the scene of the crime once first responders arrived.
A multi-agency manhunt ensued.
Two days later, Walker was arrested in Panama City – a small city located some 140 miles due east of Pensacola. He was then extradited back.
In May 2022, Walker was released from prison after serving four years for child neglect and weapons charges. Prior to that, he served a year behind bars for aggravated battery against a pregnant woman.
On Aug. 25, jury selection in his murder case begins.
