James E. Walker was a devoted family man known for his sense of humor and love of life. A 34-year-old resident of Denmark, Maine, he was the manager of the Army Barracks store in Conway, New Hampshire. Born in Boston, Massachusetts, James grew up in Tamworth, New Hampshire, attended Kennett High School, and graduated from Norwich Military Academy in 1995. He was active in his community, having been a Boy Scout in his youth and later coaching girls' softball teams.
He and his wife, Tessa, were raising a one-year-old son, and he also had an eight-year-old daughter from a previous relationship. His life was a tapestry of family, work, and community involvement, woven with love and dedication.
The ordinary course of life was shattered on Monday, July 2, 2007, when a man walked into the Army Barracks store on White Mountain Highway with robbery on his mind. That man was Michael Lawrence Woodbury, then 31, of Windham, Maine. Inside the store, Woodbury brandished a gun. James Walker, who reportedly suspected Woodbury of shoplifting, was behind the counter when Woodbury opened fire, killing him. The violence did not end there. As Woodbury fled, he encountered two customers, William Jones, 25, and Gary Jones, 23, who were friends from Massachusetts stopping at the store on their way home from a camping trip. Woodbury shot them both. William Jones died at the scene, and Gary Jones died later at a hospital.
The brutal triple murder launched an intense manhunt. A witness spotted a man matching Woodbury's description walking on railroad tracks in Fryeburg, Maine, about 10 miles east of Conway. He was arrested there the next day. While being escorted by officers, Woodbury admitted to reporters that he had shot the three men, stating he "needed the money." He was charged with three counts of first-degree murder. In the face of overwhelming evidence, Woodbury eventually pleaded guilty to the killings and in 2009 was given three consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole.
The case against Michael Woodbury revealed a man with a history of criminal behavior. Less than two months before the murders, he had completed a five-year prison sentence in Maine for theft. In the weeks leading up to the Conway killings, he had gone on a multi-state crime spree that included bank robbery, burglary, arson, and armed robbery. Woodbury's capacity for violence was not contained by prison walls. After being transferred to the Florida prison system to serve his life sentences, his violence erupted again.
On September 22, 2017, at the Okeechobee Correctional Institution, Woodbury barricaded the door of his cell and brutally beat his 52-year-old cellmate, Antoneeze Haynes, to death with his fists, boots, and a padlock. The assault was described as a prolonged act of torture. During a trial in which he initially represented himself, Woodbury changed his plea to guilty. In July 2018, a jury unanimously recommended the death penalty, and a judge formally sentenced him to death in September of that year.
For the family of James Walker, the legal outcomes brought a measure of justice, but nothing could fill the void left by his murder. At his funeral, he was remembered for his humor and his devotion to his family. His wife, Tessa, also managed an Army Barracks store in another town. A trust fund was established for his two children. Michael Woodbury, a serial killer responsible for at least four murders, remains on death row in Florida, his appeals ongoing. The life sentences for the murders of James Walker, William Jones, and Gary Jones ensure he will never be free, and the subsequent death sentence underscores the brutality of his crimes.
