Jury finds Vashon Walker guilty of murder, assault

After nine hours of deliberation, a jury found Vashon Walker guilty of murder and aggravated assault Monday in the June 17, 2014, fatal shooting of girlfriend Jessica Osborne.

Jurors put in a long day, starting at 9 a.m. and delivering their verdict at 8 p.m. As Judge Frank Jordan Jr. individually asked each juror to confirm the verdict, one woman collapsed after standing to answer Jordan’s questions. Deputies called an ambulance for her.

Jurors began their deliberations at 3 p.m. Friday, and Jordan sent them home for the weekend at 5 p.m. that day.

After seven more hours of deliberation Monday, they found Walker guilty of “felony murder” for killing Osborne while committing the felony of aggravated assault. He was found not guilty of “malice” or intentional murder.

Jordan set Walker’s sentencing for 9 a.m. May 10. Because he is a repeat offender, Walker faces life in prison without parole.

The homicide

Police called to the couple’s 4304 Forrest Road home in 2014 found Osborne on the living room floor, shot through the head. The entry wound to the right side of her head had gunshot residue, indicating the gun barrel had been pressed against it.

Walker and Osborne had been together just two months, but prosecutors claimed their relationship already had become abusive.

Osborne, 28, who left behind three young daughters, sent her sister a text that Assistant District Attorney Katie Hartford showed the jury during closing arguments. It read:

“Don’t say nothing to nobody … my little sister, and I’m counting on you to keep your mouth shut. Just promise me if anything ever happen to me you get my babies and don’t let nobody split them up. ... Their dad’s don’t do anything for them now so please Tasha if this guy hurt me, you get my kids and never let them be apart. ... Love you sis.”

Walker had a history of domestic abuse, and the previous May 30 had kicked in Osborne’s door and hit her in the head.

“It’s the sad reality of domestic abuse,” Hartford told jurors, noting only one in four victims reports it.

During police questioning the night of the homicide, Walker told a dramatic tale of hand-to-hand combat with an intruder who shot Osborne during an attempted robbery.

He told detectives that as he and Osborne returned from running errands that day, she went inside their new home while he tried to find his cell phone in the car.

He heard a noise in the house, and when he went to investigate, found an intruder had Osborne down on the floor, a gun to her head. “You already know what it is,” Walker said the gunman told him. “Give it up.”

He said the intruder wore a gray fleece top, gloves and dark jeans. The gunman ordered Walker to shut the door before shooting Osborne, after which Walker punched him, causing him to drop the gun, Walker said.

A struggle ensued, during which the intruder retrieved the gun and shot at Walker as Walker ran to a back room, he said. Later he peeked out and the gunman fired again before running out the back door, Walker said.

As he stepped outside, he saw a gray pickup truck speed away, Walker told detectives. Then he went back inside to check on Osborne, called police, and tried to give her cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

The evidence

Investigators who initially believed Walker’s account noted discrepancies, and their suspicion further was aroused by what neighbors told them:

A 10-year-old playing outside said she twice saw Walker and Osborne arguing. A woman living across the street said she heard them arguing loudly, too.

Later the woman heard a bang, like a gunshot, she testified. Then she saw Walker come out the back door, turn and kick the door in, she said. After that, he walked out to a corner of the yard for several minutes before going back in.

In 10 or 15 minutes, the police came, and she heard Walker tell them of a gray pickup truck that sped away from the street outside his home. The neighbor saw no such vehicle.

Inside the house, police found a .45-caliber bullet had passed through Osborne’s head and lodged in the floorboard. They also noticed her shirt was torn off.

Outside by a backyard fence, they found a Ruger .45-caliber pistol hidden under vegetation. Georgia Bureau of Investigation ballistics tests matched it to the bullet that killed Osborne.

Detectives noticed Walker had no injuries corresponding to the fight he reported having with an intruder, and though Walker said he cradled Osborne in his arms and tried to give her CPR, he had no blood on his hands and arms.

Despite the number of times he said the intruder shot at him, neighbors heard only one gunshot. Investigators also noted that the shoe print on the back door that was kicked in matched the Adidas sneakers Walker was wearing.

This was Walker’s second murder trial in Osborne’s death. During his first trial in December, prosecutors were playing a videotape of Walker’s interview with police when jurors heard officers ask whether he owned a gun. Walker replied that he could not have a gun legally, because he’s a convicted felon.

Jurors aren’t supposed to hear evidence of a defendant’s prior convictions, lest they prejudge the case by assuming someone who previously committed a crime likely would commit another.

Defense attorneys J. Mark Shelnutt and William Kendrick moved for a mistrial, which Jordan granted.

This story was originally published April 25, 2016 at 8:58 PM.