A guilty verdict against a Bedford County woman who paid two men to kill her husband in 2012 has been reinstated by the Tennessee Supreme Court.
The Tennessee Court of Appeals overturned the verdict against Susan Walls last year because deliberations in her trial continued until 1 a.m. One juror had fallen asleep several hours earlier during a delay before deliberations began.
The appeals court said that late-night trial proceedings should be avoided except in unusual circumstances. The Supreme Court didn't agree.
Walls was being tried in May 2014 for soliciting the 2012 murder of her husband Larry Walls Sr. at their Unionville home.
Susan and daughter Dawn Walls had allegedly paid two of Dawn's friends, Jason Starrick and Sean Gearhardt, both of Nashville, to kill Larry Walls on Aug. 8, 2012 at his home near Unionville.
Gearhardt allegedly stabbed Walls more than 80 times but received none of the $400 paid to Starrick.
Susan Walls was sentenced to 60 years on charges of criminal responsibility to commit first degree murder and 21 years concurrently for conspiracy to commit first degree murder.
She was the only defendant to go to trial. The others entered guilty pleas.
Starrick is serving a 51-year sentence, Dawn Walls 25 years and Garhardt 21.
Source:
Partner Station WMSR
Partner Newspaper Shelbyville Times Gazette
