A man who shot and killed his girlfriend during an argument at their Burbank Drive apartment has been sentenced to life in prison.
Kenyon Walker, 23, stood before District Judge Tarvald Smith, who imposed life without the possibility of parole Monday inside the 19th Judicial District Courthouse, court records indicate. Walker was found guilty of second-degree murder March 15 at the end of a four-day trial.
Authorities said he confessed to shooting Shayla James, his 19-year-old live-in girlfriend, in the face during an Oct. 19, 2021, quarrel at The Oliver Apartments, a complex near LSU in the 4500 block of Burbank Drive.
Walker called 911 and initially told dispatchers he heard a gunshot and found James dead from a gunshot wound to the head, according to arrest reports. When questioned by detectives later, Walker said he became angry when his girlfriend told him she was unsatisfied with their relationship and wanted to be with somebody else. He admitted to shooting James while she laid in bed, then hid the gun in his vehicle.
Detectives later recovered the weapon and matched it to a shell casing found at the scene of the homicide.
LSU officials said neither Walker nor James were enrolled as students at the university at the time of the shooting.