27 July 2023
TOPEKA (KSNT) – The Shawnee County District Attorney’s office says a man accused of killing a Topeka man was convicted Thursday.
Emmanuel R. Walker was convicted of intentional murder in the second degree in relation to the 2022 killing of Kirk Sexton after a four-day trial by a Shawnee County jury, according to the DA’s office. Walker had previously entered a plea of guilty for a charge of criminal possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Walker will remain in custody and be sentenced at 9 a.m. on Oct. 30, 2023.
On July 16, 2022, law enforcement was sent to the 900 block of SW 8th Street on a call about a shooting, according to the DA’s office. Upon arrival, officers found Sexton suffering from a gunshot wound to his throat. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
An investigation found the reported shooter had fled the area in a vehicle that officers later found abandoned the next day, according to the DA’s office. On Sept. 8, 2022, Walker was found and taken into custody by U.S. Marshalls in Erie, Pennsylvania. He was then charged with murder in the first degree and criminal possession of a firearm by a convicted felon before being extradited back to Kansas.
An affidavit released later by the Topeka Police Department gave additional details on the events leading to Sexton’s death. The affidavit drew from witness testimony which detailed how Sexton and Walker got into an argument just before the shooting occurred.