Walton gets life, with parole possibility, in murder of her child

Sapora Walton will serve life with the possibility of parole after being found guilty of first-degree murder and aggravated child neglect in the 2020 death of her 19-month-old daughter. Walton’s first sentencing hearing was Wednesday morning, with the decision of whether to prevent her from ever being eligible for parole left to a jury. After about two hours of deliberation Wednesday, those jurors could not reach the unanimous decision required to impose life without the possibility of parole. The jury was nearly split 50-50. Due to the jury’s lack of a unanimous agreement for life without parole, her sentence on the first-degree murder conviction automatically defaulted to life with parole. She must serve 51 years of her sentence before being eligible for parole. Her formal sentencing is scheduled for May 1.