Justin Hakeem Walker, a 26-year-old Marine Corps Reserve sergeant, tragically died on October 24, 2016, in Wilmington, NC. Walker's death was a result of a self-inflicted gunshot wound at Shooter’s Choice, an indoor shooting range on Gordon Road. Prior to his death, Walker left a note that led authorities to his apartment, where they discovered the body of his estranged girlfriend, 23-year-old Rebecca Jones. Jones was found dead in Walker's loft apartment off New Centre Drive.
The note indicated that Jones's body would be found in the apartment, and surveillance footage from the shooting range helped investigators piece together the timeline of events.
Rebecca Jones, a 23-year-old nurse at MedNorth Medical Center, was found dead in Walker's apartment. The initial investigation revealed that Jones had not been shot, but the final determination of her cause of death was pending the outcome of an autopsy. Jones and Walker had been in a relationship since September 2011, and they had announced their engagement in December 2015, with plans to marry in April 2017. Friends and colleagues described Jones as a sweet and smart person who loved to help others.
Walker, who hailed from Gastonia, had joined the Marine Corps in 2009 and was deployed to Afghanistan as an infantryman from January to August 2011. He was promoted to sergeant on October 1, 2016, and was serving with Company F, 4th Tank Battalion, 4th Marine Division at Camp Lejeune. Walker had a history of arrests, including an incident on June 1, 2014, where he was charged with going armed to the terror of the public, assault by pointing a gun, simple assault, and communicating threats. Jones was listed as Walker's girlfriend in the police report from that incident.
The investigation into the deaths of Walker and Jones revealed that Walker had killed his estranged girlfriend before taking his own life. The New Hanover County Sheriff's Office and Wilmington Police Department worked together to uncover the details of the case. The final cause of Jones's death was determined to be strangulation. The tragic incident left a lasting impact on the community, as friends and family mourned the loss of both Walker and Jones.
