Hoax Suspect: I Was Brought To Indiana Illegally
Walker Objects To Extradition, Says She Sympathizes With Sherrill Family
POSTED: 8:31 pm EDT October 1, 2003
UPDATED: 1:20 pm EDT October 2, 2003
LEBANON, Ind. -- Donna Walker doesn't want to talk about the case that brought her to the Boone County Jail, but she does have an opinion about the way she was taken there.
Walker, 35, who is accused of falsely telling two Indiana parents that she was their missing daughter, echoed her Kansas attorney Wednesday in saying she shouldn't have been extradited from that state."I think I was taken illegally," Walker (pictured, left) told RTV6's Ericka Flye during a jailhouse interview Wednesday.Last week, Indiana authorities flew to Kansas, picked up Walker and brought her to Boone County, where she faces charges that include identity deception.
Walker, of Topeka, Kan., surrendered to Kansas authorities July 31 and had been held there until she was extradited. A Kansas judge on Tuesday ordered Indiana to return her, saying she hadn't exhausted her appeal rights there.But on Wednesday, Boone County Prosecutor Todd Meyer said he had no intention of returning Walker, arguing her Kansas lawyer did not exercise available legal options in a timely manner after a judge denied their petition to fight extradition.Walker is accused of posing as Shannon Marie Sherrill (pictured, left), who was 6 when she disappeared in 1986 from Thorntown, about 30 miles northwest of Indianapolis, while playing hide and seek with neighborhood children.No trace of the girl has ever been found.Walker, of Topeka, Kan., surrendered to authorities there July 31. Indiana investigators say she called Shannon Sherrill's parents that month and told them she believed she could be their daughter.
On Wednesday, Walker told Flye she sympathized with Shannon Sherrill's parents."I think its incredibly sad that somebody would have to go through the pain of losing their daughter, ever," she said.Walker declined to talk about the case against her.Walker's lawyer, Billy Rork, told RTV6 that the case was a clear example of "prosecutorial misconduct" and the "continuation of what has been a personal vendetta all along.""I'm going to ask that criminal charges be filed. That's what's happening here, a kidnapping," Rork said.
| Video |
Walker Speaks From JailWalker, of Topeka, Kan., surrendered to Kansas authorities July 31 and had been held there until she was extradited. A Kansas judge on Tuesday ordered Indiana to return her, saying she hadn't exhausted her appeal rights there.But on Wednesday, Boone County Prosecutor Todd Meyer said he had no intention of returning Walker, arguing her Kansas lawyer did not exercise available legal options in a timely manner after a judge denied their petition to fight extradition.Walker is accused of posing as Shannon Marie Sherrill (pictured, left), who was 6 when she disappeared in 1986 from Thorntown, about 30 miles northwest of Indianapolis, while playing hide and seek with neighborhood children.No trace of the girl has ever been found.Walker, of Topeka, Kan., surrendered to authorities there July 31. Indiana investigators say she called Shannon Sherrill's parents that month and told them she believed she could be their daughter.On Wednesday, Walker told Flye she sympathized with Shannon Sherrill's parents."I think its incredibly sad that somebody would have to go through the pain of losing their daughter, ever," she said.Walker declined to talk about the case against her.Walker's lawyer, Billy Rork, told RTV6 that the case was a clear example of "prosecutorial misconduct" and the "continuation of what has been a personal vendetta all along.""I'm going to ask that criminal charges be filed. That's what's happening here, a kidnapping," Rork said. Previous Stories:
- October 1, 2003: Officials Defy Ruling To Return Hoax Suspect
- September 26, 2003: Lawyer Presses For Hoax Suspect's Return To Kansas
- September 25, 2003: Hoax Suspect Charged After Extradition
- September 23, 2003: Judge Approves Extradition Of Hoax Suspect
- September 9, 2003: Hoax Suspect To Get Another Mental Evaluation
- August 7, 2003: Indiana Officials Ask Kansas To Extradite Hoax Suspect
- August 7, 2003: Prosecutor Believes Walker Playing Another Hoax
- August 5, 2003: Lawyer To Seek Lower Bail For Missing-Child Hoax Suspect
- August 1, 2003: Walker Suspected Of Playing Adoption Hoax On Indy Family
- August 1, 2003: Indiana Officials Confident Walker Will Be Extradited
- August 1, 2003: Hoax Suspect's Bond Set At $100,000
- August 1, 2003: Hoax Suspect Surrenders In Kansas
- July 31, 2003: Suspect In Sherrill Hoax May Have Called After Announcement
- July 31, 2003: Father On Hoax: I Lost Daughter All Over Again
- July 31, 2003: Police: Claim In Missing-Person Case Was Hoax
Copyright 2007 by TheIndyChannel.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
