Man charged with killing girlfriend

A 29-year-old LaFayette man killed his live-in girlfriend Sunday evening, Jan. 15, Walker County Sheriff Steve Wilson said Monday.

David Ryan Walker has been charged with the murder of 29-year-old Candace Ann Hankins. The couple lived at 956 Wheeler Road, Wilson said.

This is the first murder in Walker County in 2017, Wilson said.

Officials believe Hankins was pregnant, but that will have to be confirmed by an autopsy, Wilson said.

The sheriff said that Walker moved her body to a wooded area near the residence and wrapped her remains in a blanket. He contacted family members to help him dispose of the body, but the family immediately notified law enforcement, Wilson said.

Walker could face additional charges, Wilson said.

“We responded to this address (Sunday) evening around 7:25 p.m. in response to a call that a homicide may have occurred here at this address,” the sheriff said. “Upon arrival, two deputies came here to do a welfare check on a female who we have been told could be in distress or could possibly be deceased. Upon arrival here, the deputies spoke to the male occupant and upon speaking with him, we further determined that the female occupant here at this home was deceased.”

“At some point, we believe that the death occurred inside the home. However, the suspect either picked up the deceased or drug the deceased to the wooded area,” Wilson said.

The body was located north of the house in some woods and wrapped in blanket about 75 yards from the home.

Wilson said there was no sign of a weapon, such as a gun or a knife, involved in the murder.

“We are uncertain as to the cause of death, but we believe it was possibly some type of forced trauma to the body that caused the death. As to the motive, we are not certain of that at this point,” Wilson said.

No children are believed to have been at the home at the time of the murder, the sheriff said.

“The suspect in this case made a telephone call to one or two relatives after the event occurred inside the home, expressing feeling remorse for what happened. One or

The scene on Wheeler Road, in LaFayette, where the county’s first homicide of 2017 occurred Jan. 15, when a man allegedly killed his live-in girlfriend. (Messenger photo/Josh O’Bryant)