Psychologist: Would-be baby abductor 'reckless'

MUNCIE – A mental health professional who examined Judith Walker described her personality style as "manipulative, reckless, envious of others, lack of empathy for others, holds on to a grudge toward others, attributes her own misfortune to the neglect of others."

Psychologist Frank Krause's examination of Walker came after the Anderson woman's arrest in June 2013, when she attacked a young Muncie mother in a failed bid to steal her 3-week-old infant.

Walker, now 35, in August pleaded guilty to burglary resulting in bodily injury, criminal confinement and attempted criminal confinement. She will face a prison term of up to 90 years if Delaware Circuit Court 1 Judge Marianne Vorhees accepts a plea agreement — which calls for an attempted murder charge to be dismissed — at a hearing set for Wednesday.

Authorities said Walker posed as an exterminator on repeated visits to her victim's home. On the day she tried to take the baby, she wrapped an extension cord around the mother's neck, saying, "I won't shoot you. I just want your baby."

After a struggle, the mother managed to break away from Walker and ran out of the house with her infant.

In a sentencing memorandum filed last week, Chief Trial Deputy Prosecutor Eric Hoffman called Walker "cunning, dishonest and manipulative."

"In May and June of 2013, (Walker) was planning and plotting to steal a newborn baby, any newborn baby, and keep it as her own," Hoffman wrote. He noted Walker told some people she was in the process of adopting a baby, and told others — including her victim — she had recently given birth to a daughter named Addison.

"She purchased baby clothing, pacifiers, diapers and a baby swing," he added. "The defendant even went so far as to purchase and wear a 'fake baby belly' for the obvious deceitful purpose of leading people to believe she was pregnant."

The victim told investigators Walker was wearing a wig and carrying a backpack on the day of the attack.

In the defendant's Anderson garage, Hoffman wrote, police later found a backpack containing "a pair of gloves, a brownish wig, a white extension cord, a roll of duct tape, and a nylon rope."

The deputy prosecutor noted the ongoing impact of the crime on the victim and her family.

In a statement, the mother said she recalled thinking, as Walker tried to strangle her, that "my husband was going to find me dead on that floor, my child was going to be gone, and no one would know who took her because (the defendant) did have have an appointment that day."

While the mother will likely live with the memories of that day for the rest of her life, Walker maintained at an August court hearing that she could not recall the incident due to drug abuse.

"The defendant has shown no true genuine remorse," Hoffman wrote. "She blames her substance abuse history and claims she has no memory of the crime. The court should place no weight whatsoever in the defendant's feigned blackout."

He noted her actions leading to the "carefully planned and orchestrated" crime took place over several days. Hoffman wrote that he would wait until Wednesday's hearing to make a formal sentencing recommendation, but he cited court rulings on what types of crimes warrant maximum sentences.

Walker is represented by local attorney Michael Quirk. Last December, she pleaded guilty to a drug-related charge that was pending in a Madison County court at the time of her most recent arrest.

Contact news reporter Douglas Walker at (765) 213-5851. You can also follow him on Twitter @DouglasWalkerSP.