In the fall of 1986, a sense of unease began to creep into the community of Suitland, Maryland, as a series of brutal killings targeting young African-American women unfolded. Among the victims was 26-year-old Juanita Marie Walls. Her life was cut tragically short, leaving a family to grieve and a community fearful of a predator in their midst. Walls was last seen on October 30, 1986, when she left her Washington, D.C. apartment to attend a birthday party.
She never arrived, and a period of anxious waiting for her loved ones turned into a grim reality.
The discovery of her body on January 13, 1987, in a wooded area near the Bradbury Recreational Center in Suitland, confirmed the worst fears. She, along with another victim, Cynthia Lee Westbury, was found during an extensive search of the area following the discovery of a third victim, Pamela Malcolm, a day earlier. The cause of death for Walls was determined to be the result of a brutal sexual assault and multiple stab wounds. Her death was part of a string of homicides that terrorized the region between October 1986 and January 1987, with all victims sharing a similar profile and manner of death.
The investigation into these violent crimes led authorities to a person of interest, Alton Alonso Best. While he was never formally charged with the murder of Juanita Marie Walls or the other women in the Suitland series, the killings stopped following his arrest in connection with the murder of Janice Elaine Morton in Washington, D.C. Best ultimately accepted a plea deal for the Morton case, pleading guilty to second-degree murder and sodomy. In his confession, he admitted to preying on marginalized young women. Though a definitive link to the Suitland murders was not legally established, law enforcement and the community have long believed him to be responsible for the reign of terror that claimed the life of Juanita Marie Walls and others.
