Reply With QuoteChandler man held in 3 deaths
Phoenix Police Department
Michael Craig Walton, 22, of Chandler, is accused of killing three people at a central Phoenix home to steal small amounts of drugs and money.
David J. Cieslak
The Arizona Republic
Sept. 14, 2004 12:00 AM
Police on Monday arrested a Chandler man on suspicion of first-degree murder in connection with this weekend's killing of three people inside a central Phoenix home.
Investigators believe Michael Craig Walton, 22, was using methamphetamines with two of the victims before he shot the trio and fled the condominium, near Seventh Street and Bethany Home Road, Phoenix police Detective Tony Morales said. Authorities said Walton killed the three to steal small amounts of drugs and money inside the home.
The bodies of Ryan Theraldson, 24; Carlena Hahne, 27; and Philip Shanoff, 22, were found Sunday about 9:30 a.m. by a friend who came to pick up the three roommates for breakfast, Morales said. Their dog, a pit bull, was shot in the head but survived.
Walton apparently killed Theraldson and Hahne in a bedroom on the condominium's first floor, then went upstairs and fatally shot Shanoff who was hiding in a bedroom, Morales said. Investigators believe Theraldson and Shanoff had used drugs with Walton before he opened fire.
"This is a perfect example of the violence that goes hand-in-hand with that kind of drug," Morales said.
Walton made no statements to investigators about the killings before he was booked into Madison Street Jail on Monday night, Morales said. He would not discuss how authorities linked Walton to the killings.
Police arrested Walton on Monday afternoon at the Mesa office of his parole officer, where Walton was arriving for a pre-scheduled meeting. Records show Walton was released in March from an Arizona prison after being convicted on felony aggravated-driving-under-the-influence charges in 2002.
Maricopa County Superior Court records show Walton pleaded guilty to felony auto-theft charges in 2000. A year later, he pleaded guilty to criminal trespassing charges.
Theraldson and Hahne were co-defendants in a pending drug case, according to court records.
