In the late afternoon heat of an early September day in Aliceville, Alabama, a family tragedy unfolded that would leave two brothers dead and a third in jail. On September 3, 2021, 43-year-old Cedric Donnell Walker, a Black male from Hiram, Georgia, was visiting his mother's home on Franconia Road. What should have been a peaceful family gathering turned into a scene of unimaginable violence.
Cedric and his 45-year-old brother, Raymond Douglas Walker Jr., were in the yard of the
residence when they were both fatally shot. When officers from the Aliceville Police Department arrived at the scene around 5 p.m., they discovered the bodies of the two brothers. The alleged perpetrator was swiftly identified and taken into custody at the scene.
The suspect in the double homicide was none other than their own brother, 40-year-old Michael Anthony Walker. He was arrested and subsequently charged with two counts of capital murder. In the wake of the devastating event, Aliceville Police Chief Tonnie Jones, who knew the family personally, expressed his condolences, particularly for the mother who had lost two sons to violence and a third to the justice system. It was revealed that Michael had a history of mental health issues, and Chief Jones urged the public to be proactive in seeking help for family members dealing with similar struggles.
Further investigation into Michael Walker's past revealed this was not his first deadly encounter with a firearm. Court records showed that 18 years prior, in January 2003, he had shot and killed his 18-year-old girlfriend, Erica Y. Bonner. In that case, he was initially charged with murder but later pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter after his defense successfully argued that the handgun was defective. For the murder of his brothers, Michael Walker was held without bond in the Pickens County Jail. If convicted of the capital murder charges, he faces a sentence of either life in prison without the possibility of parole or the death penalty.
