Frank Athen Walls: The Okaloosa County Serial Killer
Overview
Frank Athen Walls was an American serial killer, burglar and sexual predator responsible for murdering five people in Okaloosa County, Florida, between March 1985 and July 1987. Walls began killing while still a teenager and repeatedly targeted victims in places where they should have been safe, including a public beach and private residences. His crimes involved stabbing, shooting, sexual assault, kidnapping and theft.
Walls was born on October 12, 1967, and grew up in the Fort Walton Beach area of the Florida Panhandle. Before the full extent of his violence became known, he had accumulated a history of burglary, theft and disturbing behavior. People who knew him later described his fascination with rape, murder and violence. Investigators eventually concluded that burglary was frequently the point of entry into his crimes, but his conduct went far beyond stealing property. Once he encountered a victim, he was willing to use extreme violence to eliminate witnesses and satisfy his desire for control.
Confirmed Victims
- Tommie Lou Whiddon, 19 — Murdered on March 26, 1985, on Okaloosa Island, Florida. Whiddon, a junior college student, was attacked while sunbathing near the beach. Walls cut her throat and stole her automobile. Her body was discovered later that day by a man walking along the beach, while her vehicle was located the following day behind a building.
- Cynthia Sue Condra, 24 — Murdered on September 16, 1986, in the Wright area of Okaloosa County, Florida. Walls stabbed Condra repeatedly and abandoned her body beside a roadway. He admitted responsibility for her killing years later as part of an agreement with prosecutors.
- Audrey Gygi, 47 — Murdered on May 20, 1987, at her mobile home near Fort Walton Beach, Florida. Evidence indicated that Walls entered her residence, sexually assaulted her and stabbed her to death. Property taken from Gygi's home was later connected to Walls, and DNA evidence ultimately established his involvement.
- Edward Alger Jr., 22 — Murdered during the early morning hours of July 22, 1987, inside the mobile home he shared with his girlfriend in Ocean City, Florida. Alger was bound during a burglary and attempted to resist Walls. Walls cut his throat and then shot him several times in the head.
- Ann Louise Peterson, 20 — Murdered on July 22, 1987, in the same Ocean City mobile home as Edward Alger. Peterson was restrained, sexually assaulted and shot in the head. Walls received a death sentence for her murder.
The Murder of Tommie Lou Whiddon
Walls committed his first confirmed murder on March 26, 1985, when he was only 17 years old. He encountered 19-year-old Tommie Lou Whiddon while she was sunbathing on Okaloosa Island. Whiddon was a student attending junior college and had gone to the beach during the day. Walls approached her while carrying a knife and attacked her without any known personal dispute or prior relationship.
Walls cut Whiddon's throat and left her on the beach. He then took her automobile and drove away. A man walking his dog discovered Whiddon's body later that day. Her abandoned vehicle was found the next day behind a building. At the time, investigators had little evidence identifying her attacker, and the murder remained unresolved for years.
Walls was not prosecuted for Whiddon's death when it occurred. Only after he had been convicted of later murders and confronted with evidence linking him to other crimes did he admit that he had killed her. His confession established that his pattern of lethal violence had begun considerably earlier than authorities initially understood.
The Murder of Cynthia Sue Condra
On September 16, 1986, Walls killed 24-year-old Cynthia Sue Condra in the Wright community near Fort Walton Beach. Condra was stabbed approximately 21 times. Her body was left beside a road, where it was later discovered. The numerous wounds demonstrated the intensity of the attack and suggested that Walls continued assaulting her after she had already been incapacitated.
As with the murder of Tommie Lou Whiddon, investigators were initially unable to build a case against Walls. Condra's death remained unsolved while he continued committing burglaries and moving through the same relatively small geographic area. Walls finally admitted responsibility in 1994 while negotiating the resolution of another murder case. In return for his cooperation and pleas, prosecutors agreed not to pursue additional trials that could have resulted in further death sentences.
The Murder of Audrey Gygi
Audrey Gygi was killed inside her mobile home near Fort Walton Beach on May 20, 1987. Gygi was a 47-year-old working woman whose absence became alarming when she failed to report to her job. A co-worker became concerned, and Gygi was subsequently found dead in her residence.
Investigators determined that she had been sexually assaulted and stabbed. Property was missing from the home, including a fan and a radio. After Walls was arrested for the murders of Edward Alger and Ann Peterson, authorities searched his residence and discovered numerous suspected stolen items. Among them was a fan associated with Gygi's home. A fingerprint connected to Gygi was also reportedly found on property recovered from Walls.
Although investigators strongly suspected Walls, the physical evidence available in 1987 was not sufficient to resolve the case immediately. Advances in DNA testing later provided a decisive link. In 1993, DNA evidence connected Walls to the sexual assault and murder, leading to his indictment. He ultimately entered a no-contest plea to Gygi's murder and received another life sentence.
The Ocean City Double Murder
The crimes that led directly to Walls's arrest occurred during the early morning hours of July 22, 1987. Edward Alger Jr. was a young airman stationed at Eglin Air Force Base. He and his girlfriend, Ann Louise Peterson, lived in a mobile home in the Greenwood Mobile Home Park in Ocean City, near Fort Walton Beach.
Walls entered the residence intending to commit a burglary. According to his subsequent statements and court records, he deliberately knocked over a fan after entering, awakening the occupants. When Alger and Peterson came to investigate the sound, Walls confronted them with weapons and took control of the residence.
Walls forced Peterson to bind Alger's hands and ankles with curtain cords. He then restrained Peterson. Alger managed to loosen his bindings and fought back. During the struggle, Walls knocked him down and cut his throat. Alger remained conscious enough to bite Walls on the hand, causing him to lose his grip on the knife. Walls then produced a firearm and shot Alger three times in the head.
After killing Alger, Walls returned to Peterson. He sexually assaulted her while she remained restrained. Walls then shot her in the head. When the first shot did not immediately kill her, he placed a pillow over her face and fired another shot through it. He searched the residence and stole money, a wallet, a fan and other property before leaving the mobile home.
The victims were found on July 23 after Alger failed to report for duty. The scene provided investigators with evidence of burglary, restraint, sexual violence and execution-style killings. The brutality of the attack generated intense concern throughout the community, but Walls had also made mistakes that rapidly directed authorities toward him.
Arrest and Physical Evidence
Walls's roommate provided investigators with information that implicated him in the double murder. Walls was arrested on July 24, 1987, two days after the killings. A bite injury on his hand was consistent with the struggle he had described with Alger.
A search of Walls's residence uncovered property taken from Alger and Peterson's home. Investigators also recovered a large collection of weapons, tools and suspected stolen goods, including knives, firearms, ammunition, fans, telephones, clothing and other household property. Some of the items later became important in examining whether Walls was responsible for unresolved murders elsewhere in Okaloosa County.
Walls eventually made statements admitting his participation in the Ocean City killings. He was charged with two counts of first-degree murder, kidnapping, armed burglary, theft and related offenses. Because the evidence was strongest in the Alger and Peterson case, prosecutors initially concentrated on those murders while detectives reviewed other violent deaths that had occurred in the region.
Trials and Death Sentence
Walls was first tried for the murders of Edward Alger and Ann Peterson in July 1988. Questions were raised about his mental competency, but a judge determined that he was capable of standing trial. Prosecutors presented evidence concerning the stolen property, his statements, the crime scene and his conduct following the murders.
The jury convicted Walls of both murders. He received a death sentence for killing Peterson and a life sentence, with the possibility of parole after 25 years, for killing Alger. He also received additional prison terms for burglary, kidnapping and theft.
The Florida Supreme Court later reversed the original convictions because of issues connected to the competency proceedings and ordered a new trial. The second trial was moved to Jackson County because of the extensive publicity in Okaloosa County. In July 1992, Walls was convicted again. The trial judge reimposed the death sentence for Peterson's murder and a life sentence for Alger's murder.
Confessions to Additional Murders
After DNA evidence connected Walls to Audrey Gygi, prosecutors prepared to try him for her rape and murder. Walls faced the possibility of receiving another death sentence. In an agreement designed to avoid additional capital trials, he entered a no-contest plea in Gygi's case and admitted killing Tommie Lou Whiddon and Cynthia Sue Condra.
His admissions confirmed that the murders were not isolated incidents associated with one disastrous burglary. They revealed a two-year pattern in which Walls selected vulnerable victims, invaded personal spaces, used knives or firearms and stole property after committing murder. All five confirmed killings occurred in Okaloosa County, close to the communities where Walls lived and worked.
Walls was investigated as a possible suspect in other crimes, including the October 1986 killing of Lindsay Sams, who was found severely beaten at a condominium in Miramar Beach and later died from her injuries. Walls refused to discuss that case, and he was never charged with Sams's murder. Investigators later examined another convicted killer as a possible suspect, leaving the crime unresolved and outside Walls's confirmed victim count.
Years of Appeals
Walls remained under a death sentence for more than three decades. His attorneys filed numerous appeals challenging his conviction, sentence and eligibility for execution. Some of the litigation concerned claims that he had an intellectual disability and therefore could not constitutionally be executed.
Courts reviewed conflicting test results and expert opinions concerning Walls's intellectual abilities. Judges concluded that the available evidence did not establish an intellectual disability that would prohibit execution. His convictions and death sentence were repeatedly upheld.
Execution
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed Walls's death warrant on November 18, 2025. The execution was scheduled for December 18, 2025, at Florida State Prison. Walls's attorneys sought stays in state and federal court, again arguing that his execution should be prohibited, but the courts rejected the final appeals.
Frank Athen Walls was executed by lethal injection on December 18, 2025. He was pronounced dead at 6:11 p.m. He was 58 years old. Before the execution, he expressed remorse and apologized to the victims' families.
Legacy of the Crimes
Walls's murders deeply affected the communities surrounding Fort Walton Beach, Ocean City and Okaloosa Island. His victims included students, workers, a military airman and people attacked inside their own homes. Several of the cases remained unresolved for years, forcing families to live without knowing who was responsible.
The investigation demonstrated the importance of preserving evidence in unsolved cases. Property recovered after Walls's arrest raised suspicions about his involvement in Audrey Gygi's death, but later DNA testing transformed those suspicions into a prosecutable case. His eventual confessions also brought official resolution to the murders of Tommie Lou Whiddon and Cynthia Sue Condra.
Walls was ultimately held responsible for five murders committed between the ages of 17 and 19. The combination of burglary, sexual violence, restraint and deliberate killing showed an escalating pattern that ended only after his roommate supplied the information that led authorities to him. His arrest in July 1987 prevented him from continuing a series of crimes that had already taken five lives in little more than two years.
