18-year-old from Derby pleads to 2nd-degree murder

12 March 2024

Philip Walls makes his first appearance on Dec. 14, 2023 (KSN Photo)

WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — A Derby man has pleaded guilty to his role in a fatal shooting in December.

The Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office says Philip Walls, 18, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the death of Daniel McPherson, 34, of Wichita. The district attorney’s office says Walls also pleaded guilty to attempted aggravated robbery and aggravated kidnapping.


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Wichita police found McPherson’s body near MacArthur Road and Hydraulic Avenue on Dec. 6. He had been shot in the head.

James Sawyer’s first appearance on Jan. 17, 2024 (KSN Photo)

Walls and James Sawyer were arrested in Blackwell, Oklahoma, and brought back to Wichita. Both were charged with first-degree murder.

Walls pleaded to the lesser count of second-degree murder on Monday. The judge will sentence him on May 3.

Sawyer is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on March 27.

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