The Jude Walton murder was solved within days of her body being found in her Ann Arbor, Michigan home on April 13, 2023, but the case took three more years to reach a verdict. Ricky Dewayne McCain, a registered sex offender with a prior conviction for first-degree criminal sexual conduct, broke into Walton’s home on Chapin Street overnight, strangled her, and assaulted her. On June 5, 2026, Washtenaw County Trial Court Judge Carol Kuhnke sentenced him to life in prison without the possibility of parole.1MLive. Neighbor Recounts Hearing Ann Arbor Activist’s Desperate Cry During Sentencing for Killer
Who Jude Walton Was
Walton was 51 when she was killed. She had lived in Ann Arbor for more than two decades after moving from London, and for 14 years she served as Director of Employee Experience at Avalon Housing, the county’s leading provider of supportive housing for people experiencing homelessness.2Avalon Housing. Working at Avalon In 2019 she became one of the 11 founding members of the Ann Arbor Independent Community Police Oversight Commission, a body created by city ordinance the previous year to conduct independent investigations of police incidents.3MLive. Man Arrested in Slaying of Ann Arbor Community Leader Jude Walton She served on the commission until June 2022.4MLive. Jude Walton, Slain Ann Arbor Community Leader, Remembered for Welcoming Spirit
What Happened on April 12 and 13, 2023
A neighbor last saw Walton around 8:00 p.m. on Wednesday, April 12.5NBC News. Former Police Oversight Commissioner Found Dead in Michigan Home Security cameras on neighboring properties captured a man later identified as McCain outside her home on the 200 block of Chapin Street just after midnight. Investigators concluded he broke a back window to get inside.6CBS News Detroit. Man Charged in Death of Beloved Ann Arbor Community Leader Prosecutors alleged he entered twice overnight and assaulted Walton during the second intrusion.7MLive. Jury Begins Deliberations in Case of Slain Ann Arbor Activist
When Walton did not show up for work the next morning, her employer called authorities. Officers arrived around 1:30 p.m. on April 13 for a welfare check and found forced entry at the back door and obvious signs of trauma on Walton’s body.5NBC News. Former Police Oversight Commissioner Found Dead in Michigan Home Her death was ruled a homicide by strangulation, and police said the injuries were consistent with attempted sexual assault. There were signs she had fought back.8WEMU. Suspect Arraigned on Open Murder and Sexual Misconduct in Death of Ann Arbor Activist Jude Walton
How Police Identified Ricky McCain
An Ann Arbor officer recognized McCain, then 54, from an unrelated encounter earlier on April 13 at a downtown convenience store, where the officer had checked his ID.9MLive. Jude Walton’s Killer Was Found Guilty: Here Are 5 Takeaways From the Trial He was arrested at the Robert J. Delonis Center, a homeless shelter less than a quarter mile from Walton’s home. Initial reports described him as a resident there, but the shelter’s director later said he was not a resident at the time.10Ann Arbor Observer. The Trouble at West Park
No prior personal relationship between McCain and Walton was established. He had a previous conviction for first-degree criminal sexual conduct in Wayne County and was on the sex offender registry when the attack occurred.11WXYZ. Sex Offender Charged With Breaking Into Police Watchdog’s Ann Arbor House, Killing Her He was arraigned on April 17, 2023, at Washtenaw 14A-1 District Court on charges of open murder, first-degree home invasion, and criminal sexual conduct. A not guilty plea was entered and bond was denied.
Why the Case Took Three Years to Reach Trial
Ten days after arraignment, McCain’s public defender requested a competency evaluation, which the judge ordered on April 27, 2023.12WEMU. Competency Hearing Ordered for Suspect in Death of Ann Arbor Activist The process ran far longer than expected. A second round of psychiatric testing did not conclude until April 2025, when McCain was finally deemed competent to stand trial.13MLive. Jury Selected in Trial of Man Accused of Killing Ann Arbor Activist A trial scheduled for November 2025 was then postponed after McCain’s attorney resigned from the public defender’s office shortly before the trial date.14MLive. Trial for Man Accused of Killing Ann Arbor Activist to Start Next Week The case was reset for April 2026.
The Trial and the Evidence
Jury selection took place on April 20, 2026, and opening statements began the next day before Judge Kuhnke. Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Kati Rezmierski led the case.
The prosecution’s evidence rested on DNA, forensic pathology, and audio and video captured by nearby security systems. DNA expert Alison Riviera-Papillo testified that McCain’s DNA was found on Walton’s breast, under her fingernails, and inside a used condom recovered at the scene. Walton’s DNA was on the exterior of that condom. A hat found at the scene was also linked to McCain through DNA analysis.9MLive. Jude Walton’s Killer Was Found Guilty: Here Are 5 Takeaways From the Trial
Forensic pathologist Catherine Morris testified that Walton had extensive bruising and fractures to the hyoid bone and cricoid cartilage in her neck, consistent with manual strangulation. Morris described the cricoid fracture as “very rare,” likely requiring more than 33 pounds of pressure. Jurors also heard audio from a nearby security system on which Walton could be heard screaming for help. In closing, Rezmierski told the jury, “You know she suffered, and you know she was afraid.”7MLive. Jury Begins Deliberations in Case of Slain Ann Arbor Activist
The defense called no witnesses. McCain did not testify. On April 24, 2026, after roughly 90 minutes of deliberation, the jury convicted him on all counts: first-degree premeditated murder, felony murder, first-degree home invasion, and assault with intent to commit sexual penetration.15MLive. Man Found Guilty of Killing Ann Arbor Activist After Just 90 Minutes of Deliberation
The Sentence
Judge Kuhnke imposed life in prison without the possibility of parole on June 5, 2026. Under Michigan law, both first-degree premeditated murder and felony murder carry a mandatory life-without-parole sentence.15MLive. Man Found Guilty of Killing Ann Arbor Activist After Just 90 Minutes of Deliberation
From the bench, Kuhnke noted what she called the “tragic irony” that Walton had been “the greatest champion of a person like Ricky McCain” through her work on police oversight and affordable housing. She said she could not shake the image of McCain “nonchalantly fiddling through his belongings” on camera before going to commit the crime, and told the courtroom: “The sentence that I wish I could give would be to make it not, to undo it. And I can’t do that. So, this is what I’m left with.”1MLive. Neighbor Recounts Hearing Ann Arbor Activist’s Desperate Cry During Sentencing for Killer During a presentence interview, McCain admitted he had been high at the time of the offense.
Neighbor Nina Francis-Levin described the audio of Walton’s final moments as “desperate, and then feeble.” A victim’s advocate read a statement from Walton’s sister-in-law Christina Knowles: “We have a life sentence of grief. I have a hole in my heart, and even if the trauma may dull, it will never disappear.” Rezmierski said of Walton, “In her final moments, for as special as she was, what Jude Walton wound up being was truly every woman. She was every woman’s worst nightmare.”
Aftermath
Walton’s murder intensified longstanding safety concerns in the Chapin Street area near West Park. Her backyard sat on a pedestrian route between the Delonis Center, West Park, and Miller Manor, a low-income apartment complex where Avalon Housing provided services.10Ann Arbor Observer. The Trouble at West Park She had built a makeshift fence on her property line to deter trespassers. One neighbor said they had called police more than 30 times in the preceding year. During the summer of 2023, Ann Arbor police and Michigan State Police ran joint enforcement in the area, making 24 arrests.
In May 2025, the Ann Arbor Police Department and the Independent Community Police Oversight Commission co-hosted the inaugural Jude Walton Memorial Social Justice Symposium at Washtenaw Community College, with sessions on racial and gender disparities in policing.16WEMU. City of Ann Arbor’s Police Oversight Committee Holds Inaugural Symposium Honoring Jude Walton Jessica Francis, a commissioner and friend of Walton’s, described her as “very pragmatic, very fair and measured” and said the community was “darker for having lost her.”17MLive. Join Discussions on Policing at Event Honoring Slain Ann Arbor Leader