The tragic story of Firefighter Lt. William Walker's murder outside his Cleveland, Ohio home on November 3, 2013, shocked his community. The 45-year-old's death appeared to be a random act of violence, but the ensuing investigation uncovered a complex murder-for-hire plot orchestrated by his wife, Uloma Curry-Walker.
The Initial Report and Suspicion
Uloma Curry-Walker, 41, called 911 to report the shooting. She claimed she was home with her son, Mackland, and his girlfriend, waiting for Walker to bring home dinner. She tearfully told police she didn’t know who did it.
Retired Cleveland PD detective Tom Armelli recounted, “She looked up and saw a guy standing at the end of the driveway. She could only see the guy in silhouette. She didn’t know who it was, and in an instant, that guy was gone.”
Despite Curry-Walker’s protestations of innocence, police eventually unraveled her murderous plot. Armelli noted, “It appears that Uloma had put a lot of thought into planning this. She may have been planning this from the moment that she met Will."
The Role of "Chad" in the Murder
William Walker met Uloma Curry in 2005. They were both divorced with children, including Curry’s kids, Mackland and Jackie. After seven years together, Curry was diagnosed with breast cancer. In the summer of 2012, Walker proposed marriage so she’d get better health insurance. They were newlyweds when he was gunned down outside his home.
Read also: The Life of Chad Everett Harris
Police found four shell casings by the trash cans in the back of the home but not much other evidence. To try to get more leads, police opened up a tip line on the murder case. They received several calls about a man named “Chad” being involved in the crime. When they asked Curry-Walker if she knew of a Chad, she pointed at her 17-year-old daughter’s boyfriend: Chad Padgett.
Although Curry-Walker told officers the 21-year-old was a “good kid” who got along with her husband, Walker’s fellow firefighters told a different story.
“William’s co-workers are telling us that William didn’t care for the guy at all,” Armelli said. “They told us that William didn’t really think Chad was good enough for his stepdaughter, Jackie. He was kinda lazy. Good-for-nothing.”
Jackie's Testimony and Padgett's Cell Phone Records
On Nov. 17, 2013, police questioned Jackie, who claimed she and her boyfriend were at his house the night of the murder watching football.
“Jackie didn’t know Chad’s last name. She didn’t know his phone number. She didn’t know his address,” Armelli said. “For a boyfriend/girlfriend she knew absolutely nothing about him, and that really was a red flag. It’s pretty evident that for whatever reason, Jackie is trying to protect Chad from us.”
Read also: "Married to Evil": Chad Graves
Although police subpoenaed Padgett’s cell phone records, it took until December 2014 to receive them. They showed early on the day of the murder, he was at his house, but later, that changed.
“Approximately 7 o’clock in the evening, he leaves the area of his mother’s house, travels to the Lampson Road neighborhood, and approximately 8 or 8:30 that’s where the phone was located at the time of the murder - next to Lt. Walker’s home,” Armelli said.
Chad Padgett's Confession
It took until August 2015, after Chad Padgett was arrested for murder, for him to confess to officers what really happened to William Walker.
“We asked him, ‘What do you have to do with this?’ He says right away he’s not the trigger man,” said Andy Ezzo, retired detective sergeant with the Cleveland PD, on A Plan To Kill. He admitted that Uloma Curry-Walker was the mastermind behind the plot.
“She asked me did I want to make, like, 10 thousand dollars,” Padgett said during a police interview. “She asked me to kill Will.”
Read also: Vallow-Daybell Trial: Key Evidence
He said Curry-Walker had approached him about a month before the murder, and had the urging of her daughter, Jackie.
“Uloma, approached him with a sob story about their relationship,” Armelli said. “And how she wanted his help. Chad explained that Uloma had told him that William was physically and emotionally abusive and ruining her life and that’s why she wanted this done.”
Curry-Walker’s motive was also financial.
“Chad tells us that Uloma claims Lt. Walker had this life insurance policy for $300,000, and if Lt. Walker were to die, she would get this money. And Chad would get a $10,000 check,” Ezzo said.
Padgett alleged Curry-Walker gave him $200 to buy a gun, and he went to his cousin, 21-year-old Christopher Hein, to finish the job. When Hein backed out, they found another hit man: 22-year-old Ryan Dorty.
Padgett laid out the entire murder plan for officers. On Nov. 3, he said he and Dorty drove to Lt. Walker’s home and waited for a signal from Curry-Walker. Padgett loaded the gun, and his DNA and prints were later found on the gun casings.
“She would send a text message to Jackie that stated, ‘You can come home now.’ Jackie let Ryan and Chad know that it was time,” Ezzo said.
Padgett claimed Dorty then laid in wait behind the garbage cans.
“He shoots him four times. Cold-blooded murder,” Armelli said.
Jackie Hines, Christopher Hein, and Ryan Dorty all told the same story as Chad Padgett.
“All four of these co-conspirators pointed the finger directly at Uloma as the person who planned and plotted this murder,” Armelli said.
The Trial and Sentencing
When Uloma Curry-Walker went on trial in June 2017 for murdering her husband, Lt. William Walker, it was revealed she never had cancer.
“It was a totally made-up story that Uloma told William to get him to marry her so that she could benefit from his life insurance policy worth close to $300,000,” Armelli said. “Uloma strategically planned and plotted this murder every step of the way.”
In July 2017, a jury found her guilty, and sentenced her to life in prison with no chance of parole.
“Uloma was a predator. She preyed on Will, and she preyed on his kindness,” said Bobby DiSanto, Walker’s fellow firefighter at Station 28, on A Plan To Kill. “She did all of that for money.”
Her daughter, a minor, was sentenced to one month in juvenile detention. Chad Padgett was sentenced to 28 years in prison. Christopher Hein was sentenced to 18 years in prison. The trigger man, Ryan Dorty, received a sentence of 23 years in prison.
Sentences of Those Involved
The following table summarises the sentences of those involved in the murder of William Walker:
| Name | Role | Sentence |
|---|---|---|
| Uloma Curry-Walker | Mastermind | Life in prison without parole |
| Jackie Hines | Accomplice | One month in juvenile detention |
| Chad Padgett | Facilitator | 28 years in prison |
| Christopher Hein | Accomplice | 18 years in prison |
| Ryan Dorty | Hitman | 23 years in prison |
Popular articles:
tags: #Chad
