A mother and father accused of murdering their infant and fleeing the state are being held in Thurston County jail in lieu of $300,000 bail each.
Maria Alice Walker, 32, and Travis Cedric Timmons, 34, made their first appearance in Thurston County Superior Court Friday. Prosecutors had charged them both with second-degree murder and first-degree criminal mistreatment on Feb. 22.
The infant died in August 2020, after which the couple relocated to Las Vegas. After charging them last month, a warrant was issued for their arrest, and both were booked into Thurston County jail on Thursday.
Court Commissioner Pro Tem Skip Charles Houser set the bail amounts separately after hearing arguments from their public defense attorney and the prosecution. In doing so, he reasoned they may fail to reappear in court, commit a violent crime or interfere with the case.
Deputy prosecutor Wayne Graham asked for bail to be set at $500,000 for each of the defendants. He called the infant’s death tragic but “completely avoidable.”
“They then left the state, your honor,” Graham said. “They had no real intentions of staying in Washington state even after their son passed.”
Graham initially asked for $250,000 bail but amended the request after Walker’s sister shared some comments with the court virtually.
Heather Young, a nurse practitioner in Maryland, told the court she wanted the couple to cooperate so there could be justice for her deceased nephew.
“Accountability needs to be present because ultimately, my nephew can’t be brought back,” Young said. “I just ask that the court keeps that in mind.”
Defense attorney Luke Swinney asked for bail to be set at $100,000 for both parents. He disagreed with the state’s allegation that the couple fled, saying they simply moved to find cheaper housing.
Swinney said Timmons and Walker indicated they would have appeared willingly if they had been summoned. Neither of them have criminal records in Washington state.
A probable cause statement describes the investigation into the infant’s death from the perspective of law enforcement.
On Aug. 12, 2020, Thurston County deputies arrived at a home in the 9100 block of Clover Drive Southeast, southeast of the Regional Athletic Complex (RAC), to investigate the infant’s death.
The 3-month-old child had an extremely wide fontanelle (a space between the bones of the skull in an infant) and a swollen head, which can be indicative of abuse, according to the court statement.
Walker reportedly told a detective the infant was born with oxycodone in his system. She also said his head had been bruised in a few accidents.
The evening when the infant died, Walker reportedly went to a store while Timmons cared for the child. Timmons said he went to put the child in his bed, but a short while later the child began coughing and ultimately became unresponsive.
Phone records showed Timmons searched “why is infant lifeless” at 8:15 p.m. Eight minutes later he called Walker to come home. By 8:28 p.m., he called 911, according to the statement.
Both parents told detectives they spoke about the child’s bruising and swollen head with relatives, including Walker’s sister Young, who encouraged them to see a doctor.
However, medical records indicated the parents did not initially discuss their concerns and later missed an appointment in July.
At the baby’s two-month checkup, the infant had a normal head circumference of 38.8 centimeters, which was in the 39th percentile, per the statement. About a month later, an autopsy at the King County Medical Examiner’s Office found the child had a head circumference of 46 centimeters, which was above the 98th percentile.
The doctor who examined the child found various bruises, scars and healing fractures in the infant’s ribs and left side, according to the statement. There also was evidence of old and recent subdural bleeding, which likely caused the child’s head to swell.
If the child had been taken to a doctor sooner, then he may have been able to be treated before permanent damage was done, the doctor reportedly told detectives.
Both parents are due back in court on April 5 for arraignments.
