Man who left toddler with mother’s lifeless body found guilty, sentenced

A West Columbia man has been sentenced to 50 years in prison for strangling his girlfriend and leaving his toddler daughter behind with her mother’s body.

The trial of David Richard Walker, 35, lasted six days before jurors returned with a guilty verdict in the murder of Catherine “Carrie” Banty, who was 24 years old at the time, according to a news release by Eleventh Circuit Solicitor Rick Hubbard.

Walker, who chose to act as his own attorney, argued in his opening statement to the jury that he was acting in self defense when he strangled Banty, the release said. Walker also demanded a “Stand Your Ground” hearing, but offered no testimony or evidence during the trial.

He was arrested in 2012, after a neighbor found his then-3-year-old daughter crying while wandering Alexandria Street in West Columbia, the release said. The toddler led the neighbor to her mother’s body in the couple’s home.

Walker was found six days later by Aiken County Sheriff’s deputies to whom he stated “that he murdered someone,” according to the release.

Prosecuting attorney Shawn Graham used a timer to show the jury how seconds after Banty lost consciousness and stopped struggling, Walker had to continue to choke her for at least another three minutes in order to kill her, the release said.

During his sentencing on Wednesday, the release said Walker told the judge overseeing the case that he “didn’t want to be associated with Carrie in life, and damn sure didn’t want to be associated with her in death.”

This story was originally published March 2, 2017 at 4:13 PM with the headline "Man who left toddler with mother’s lifeless body found guilty, sentenced."