BENTONVILLE : Suspect to be sent to mental facility
Posted on Wednesday, October 8, 2008
BENTONVILLE — A 75-yearold Rogers woman charged in the shooting death of her husband will be released from the Benton County jail and taken to a mental health facility in Fayetteville.
Myrtle Walter was being held Tuesday on a capital murder charge in the Benton County jail.
She told police Saturday that she shot and killed her 74-yearold husband, Paul Walter, while he was sleeping in their bedroom because he was mentally abusive and wanted to have sex, according to court documents.
Rogers police officer Tiffany Terral responded to an emergency call with medics from the Rogers Fire Department and found Paul Walter dead in the couple’s home at 1105 S. 12 th Place.
Myrtle Walter made her first court appearance Sunday morning where District Judge Jeff Conner granted a prosecutor’s request to hold her without bond.
Walter appeared in court Tuesday afternoon for a bond hearing in the case. Her attorney W. H. Taylor filed a motion seeking his client’s release from jail and transportation to Generations, a secure geriatric psychiatric facility in Fayetteville.
Taylor provided Circuit Judge John Scott with a letter from Dr. Gary Linker that claims Walter suffers from dementia that causes her to experience periods of confusion. Walter’s physical condition is strained by medical conditions that include hypertension, high cholesterol and cerebrovascular disease, the letter states. Her adaptive functioning is compromised by dementia, complications of depression, and a long-standing anxiety disorder due to sustained sexual abuse in childhood, according to the letter.
Linker recommended Walter be admitted to Generations for a full evaluation so he can make the most accurate recommendations in the case.
Deputy prosecutor Stephanie McLemore told Scott at Tuesday’s hearing that prosecutors are not aware of any aggravating factors, so they are not seeking the death penalty.
McLemore recommended that the court set a $ 250, 000 bond for Walter, and he opposed Taylor’s request to have Walter transported to Generations.
Scott ordered that Walter be transported to Generations and if the court receives a satisfactory report, the judge said Walter then could post a $ 250, 000 bond.
Walter’s arraignment is scheduled for 8: 30 a. m. Nov. 3 before Circuit Judge David Clinger.
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