Affidavit: Son had drug problems, stole from murdered woman

CHARLESTON, SC (WCSC) - The son of a woman found dead in her home has been charged with grand larceny after police say the man was found with her SUV.

The Charleston Police Department has charged 21-year-old Walker Wayne Pinkleton with grand larceny with more charges expected. According to police, Pinkleton was found with 59-year-old Patricia Walker's SUV early Monday morning.

An incident report states a neighbor saw Pinkleton leave Walker's home Sunday afternoon in the victim's green Ford Excursion. Family members told police Pinkleton did not have permission to be in possession of the Excursion.  Court documents state the key to the Excursion and the key to the Walker's bedroom, which was deadbolted, were on a key chain Walker kept with her.

Police spokesman Charles Francis said Monday Pinkleton is considered a person of interest in Patricia Walker's death.  According to an arrest affidavit, Pinkleton had narcotic problems and had stolen items from Walker in the past.

Walker was found dead in her home on Sunday.

Charleston police said they responded to Walker's home at 958 Orange Grove Road just before 5 p.m. Sunday after receiving a call from her family in Columbia. Officers say her family grew concerned after they had not heard from her.

Walker's mother, Catherine Brooks, told Reporter Harve Jacobs early Monday she spoke with Pinkleton on the phone Friday, and the 21-year-old told her Walker "wasn't feeling well."  Walker's husband was out of town at the time, according to court documents.

The woman said she pressed Pinkleton for details, "I said, well, what's she doing? He said 'She's just laying there.'"

Brooks said she and her husband called several more times during the weekend, and said Pinkleton told her Walker still wasn't feeling well.

Sunday afternoon, Brooks said she was awakened from a nightmare, "I had an awful dream and I got up and I told my husband 'something's wrong, we're going to Charleston and you're going with me, put your clothes on.'"

The family drove down and met officers' outside the home. That's when officers say they found the woman shot to death in a bedroom. According to court documents, Walker died from a single gunshot wound to the back of the head.

A judge set bond for Pinkleton at $50,000 on the grand larceny charge. An autopsy has been scheduled for Monday afternoon.

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