324. The Morehouse Student Murder - The Murder of Carlnell Walker

Our sources for this episode are eastbaytimes.com, sfgate.com, legacy.com, oxygen.com, caselaw.findlaw.com, wistv.com, UPI.com, blackcollegewire.com, theeduleger.com, bet.com, mylifeofcrime.com, henryherald.com, law.justia.com, Atlanta Magazine, and The Real Murders of Atlanta on Peacock.

There are a lot of people in this world who work really hard to break the cycle of the past.

Whether that's getting out of a tough neighborhood, escaping age-old stereotypes, breaking generational trauma, it's not an easy thing to do, but everyone deserves a bright future regardless of where they came from or what has happened before.

And moving forward means trusting the path you are on and trusting those around you to help support you along the way.

And that was Carnell Walker.

He was a focused, driven 23-year-old college student determined to succeed in life.

He created his own opportunities.

He saw positivity even in the negative, but not everyone around Carnell was rooting for his future.

Some were actually planning to rob him of it, even if that meant taking his life along the way.

So today, we are headed to Atlanta, Georgia to meet 23-year-old Carnell Walker, a miracle child, as his mother Peggy described him, and honestly, in more ways than one.

Peggy said doctors originally told her she couldn't have children, and then along came Carnell.

He was born on January 13th, 1983.

He had actually grown up in Richmond, California.

This was a tougher neighborhood about a half-hour drive right over the bay from San Francisco.

Now, growing up, Carnell was always energetic.

According to his cousin, he was the kind of person who could turn any dull situation into a good time, the type of person you always wanted around when you were feeling down.

And he also had that quality where you just knew he was gonna be successful at whatever he set his mind to.

He had, as some people like to call it, the sauce, that charisma and appeal.

Plus, he was extremely determined.

For example, when Carnell was a junior in high school, he told his mom out of the blue that he wanted to join the tennis team.

Now, usually high school sports are something you work your way up to after years of practice, but Carnell didn't even need that.

He joined the team that year and was a natural at it, becoming the top tennis player in Contra Costa County.

But junior year also had its downsides for Carnell, too.

He was kicked out of high school for drug possession, and he later spent some time in juvenile detention.

And when he violated his parole, a judge actually sent him to Byron Boys Ranch.