ROGERS : Woman confesses to killing husband
Posted on Monday, October 6, 2008
ROGERS — A 75-year-old Rogers woman remains in the Benton County jail without bail on capital-murder charges in connection with the weekend shooting death of her husband.
Myrtle Marie Walter told police she shot her husband, Paul, 74, because he wanted sex and was mentally abusive, according to an affidavit. Walter told police she was “at her wit’s end.”
After drinking four or five beers at her house at 1105 S. 12 th Place on Friday evening, Myrtle Walter decided how to stop being mentally abused, according to the affidavit.
Walter told police she took a gun box from a nightstand beside her husband and went in the bathroom to see if the gun was loaded. She returned to the bedroom and, in the dark, shot three times while aiming in the direction of her husband’s head, the affidavit states.
Her intent was “to kill him,” the affidavit states.
Police found a silver. 357-caliber revolver on the bed. Paul Walter’s face was grazed by one round, with the other two striking him in the shoulder and neck area, the report states.
Myrtle Walter told police she was sorry for what she had done but was relieved her husband was gone.
Police learned of the shooting after responding to a 911 call at 2: 35 a. m. Saturday. According to the affidavit, a female caller told the dispatcher that her mother had an accident.
When asked what kind of accident, the caller hung up.
That call was made by Laura Tucker, Myrtle Walter’s daughter. Tucker told police when they arrived that her mother had had an accident, according to the affidavit.
Tucker also told police her mother had called her about 2: 15 a. m. and told her that she had shot Paul Walter. Tucker told them her sister, Debbie Walter, also had been told and was en route to Myrtle Walter’s home.
Myrtle Walter spoke with detectives after waiving her right to an attorney, the affidavit states.
Walter’s neighbor, Virgil Hamilton, said Sunday harsh words for her husband were common with Myrtle Walter.
Hamilton saw Myrtle Walter weekly at the Adult Wellness Center, where they would talk, he said. She often complained about always having to make meals for her husband, he said.
The last time he saw Myrtle Walter, she sought him out at the center and told him something he couldn’t hear. He asked her to repeat it, but he still didn’t catch it. Now, he wonders if it was a cry for help.
“I should have told someone, but you just don’t think of those things,” Hamilton said.
Hamilton has lived on that street for 11 years, one house away from the Walter’s red brick home. Paul Walter typically sat in a chair by the garage or on a bench-swing in the front yard, Hamilton said.
At least once a week, Paul Walter could be seen washing one of his five cars. They called him “Mr. Clean,” Hamilton said.
Paul Walter considered himself the patriarch of the neighborhood and always was interested in what was going on and how things looked, Hamilton said.
Hamilton had a few words with him over pine trees opposite his house. Paul Walter had the city trim the trees in front of his house; Hamilton didn’t.
An American flag hung at half-staff in front of the Walters’ house, with an Arkansas flag atop a pole. The yard was landscaped, and a recreational vehicle was parked behind a tall fence.
A sign in the front yard reads, “This property is protected by an armed guard three nights per week … you guess what three nights.”
Down the street, where it curves to the east, are neighbors with a different take on the couple.
“Pleasant and nice” is how Alice Mote described Myrtle Walter.
Mote and her family have lived in the quiet neighborhood for 29 years. The Walters were there first, she said.
If there were any signs of abuse, Mote said, she never saw any. Myrtle Walter never gave any indication nor showed any signs of domestic violence.
Mote said she didn’t know them well and would visit when they were on the street or driving by. Paul Walter was pleasant, retired and interested in the neighborhood, she said. He liked to talk about how the neighborhood looked, who’s house was for sale and things of that nature, Mote said. She knew the couple had grown children and grandchildren and offered her sympathy to them, she said. It’s strange to have something like this happen in such a peaceful place, Mote said. “It’s very sad.”
To contact this reporter: awallworth@arkansasonline. com
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