Posted 3:39 pm Monday, May 07, 2012
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UPDATE: Murder Victim Had Living Skills Of A 9-Year-Old
Updated Monday, May 7, 2012 at 3:21 p.m. CDT
Richard Wilson, a retired psychologist who worked for the Andrews Center and who diagnosed Cherry Walker as mentally challenged and eligible for social services in 1995 and in 2000, took the stand this afternoon as the Kimberly Cargill trial continued.
Wilson said Ms. Walker had the daily living skills of a 9-year-old and that she suffered from major motor seizures, in response to questioning defense attorney Brett Harrison.
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Wilson said Ms. Walker had the daily living skills of a 9-year-old and that she suffered from major motor seizures, in response to questioning defense attorney Brett Harrison.
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TylerPaper.com video
By DAYNA WORCHEL
Staff Writer
In a two-hour opening statement this morning, Smith County District Attorney Matt Bingham linked DNA evidence to a Whitehouse woman who is accused in the capital murder of her mentally challenged babysitter.
Kimberly Diane Cargill, 45, is accused in the 2010 capital murder of Cherry Walker, Ms. Cargill's babysitter who planned to testify against her employer in a child custody hearing.
The Smith County District Attorney's Office is seeking the death penalty if Ms. Cargill is convicted. The trial, which is expected to last from four to six weeks, will take place in the 241st District Court.
Bingham said to the jury that a straw and an empty coffee cream container from a fast food restaurant, which was found near Ms. Walker's body, contained DNA material on them which could not exclude Ms. Cargill as being the contributor after the DNA was tested.
Bingham also told the jury about the findings of the coroner who performed the autopsy on Ms. Walker, saying that her death had been caused by “homicidal violence.” He told the jury that the evidence would show that Ms. Walker's death could have been caused by suffocation and that her body had been dumped on a county road miles from where the victim lived in Tyler.
Authorities found Ms. Walker's partially burned body along County Road 2191, also known as Oscar Burkett Road, in June 2010. Smith County investigators said Ms. Walker died of "homicidal violence." It took four weeks for prosecutors and defense attorneys to assemble a jury for the trial.
Bingham also presented a timeline starting on June 18, 2010, the day Ms. Walker called Ms. Cargill to tell her she had received a subpoena to testify.
“Cherry Walker is dead from that moment on,” Bingham said.
Phone records showed numerous calls Ms. Cargill placed to the victim, asking her to clean her house and telling her she would take her out to eat prior to June 18. After that date, phone records show fewer phone calls from Ms. Cargill to Ms. Walker.
Staff Writer
In a two-hour opening statement this morning, Smith County District Attorney Matt Bingham linked DNA evidence to a Whitehouse woman who is accused in the capital murder of her mentally challenged babysitter.
Kimberly Diane Cargill, 45, is accused in the 2010 capital murder of Cherry Walker, Ms. Cargill's babysitter who planned to testify against her employer in a child custody hearing.
The Smith County District Attorney's Office is seeking the death penalty if Ms. Cargill is convicted. The trial, which is expected to last from four to six weeks, will take place in the 241st District Court.
Bingham said to the jury that a straw and an empty coffee cream container from a fast food restaurant, which was found near Ms. Walker's body, contained DNA material on them which could not exclude Ms. Cargill as being the contributor after the DNA was tested.
Bingham also told the jury about the findings of the coroner who performed the autopsy on Ms. Walker, saying that her death had been caused by “homicidal violence.” He told the jury that the evidence would show that Ms. Walker's death could have been caused by suffocation and that her body had been dumped on a county road miles from where the victim lived in Tyler.
Authorities found Ms. Walker's partially burned body along County Road 2191, also known as Oscar Burkett Road, in June 2010. Smith County investigators said Ms. Walker died of "homicidal violence." It took four weeks for prosecutors and defense attorneys to assemble a jury for the trial.
Bingham also presented a timeline starting on June 18, 2010, the day Ms. Walker called Ms. Cargill to tell her she had received a subpoena to testify.
“Cherry Walker is dead from that moment on,” Bingham said.
Phone records showed numerous calls Ms. Cargill placed to the victim, asking her to clean her house and telling her she would take her out to eat prior to June 18. After that date, phone records show fewer phone calls from Ms. Cargill to Ms. Walker.
