Roy Walters was a 57-year-old Black man described by a cousin as loving, polite, sharing, and caring. His life was cut short in the Salisbury, Maryland, apartment he shared with his son in the early morning hours of February 22, 2025. Evidence presented in court showed that at 3:58 a.m., Roy sent a Facebook message to his son demanding that he pay his share of the rent and expenses or be removed from the lease. In response, his son fired seven shots, all of which struck Roy, who died at the scene.
Later that day, shortly before 6 p.m., concerned family members who had not heard from Roy asked police to conduct a welfare check at his residence on the 1100 block of Parsons Road. Officers from the Salisbury Police Department entered the apartment and found Roy Walters unresponsive on the floor with apparent gunshot wounds. Emergency medical personnel pronounced him deceased.
The Maryland State Police Homicide Unit was called in to lead the investigation.
The focus of the investigation quickly turned to Roy’s son, 31-year-old Ja’Bril Roynell Walters, who had fled the apartment after the shooting. Investigators learned that Ja'Bril was also wanted on an outstanding warrant for a first-degree assault that occurred in July 2024. A multi-state manhunt began, with authorities tracking Ja’Bril first to North Carolina and then to Maine. After a search of nearly five months, the Maine Violent Offender Task Force apprehended him in Auburn, Maine, in July 2025. Investigators believed he had been living there under an alias.
Ja’Bril Walters was extradited to Maryland to face charges of first- and second-degree murder, firearm offenses, and five counts of first-degree assault related to the prior incident. During his trial, prosecutors noted that he was legally prohibited from possessing a firearm due to his criminal history. In June 2026, following a four-day trial, a Wicomico County jury found Ja’Bril Walters guilty of first-degree murder, second-degree murder, first- and second-degree assault, illegal possession of a regulated firearm and ammunition, and altering physical evidence.
On September 18, 2026, Wicomico County Circuit Court Judge S. James Sarbanes sentenced Ja’Bril Walters, then 33, to life in prison without the possibility of parole. "The taking of a life is a sinister crime, and even more so when a son murders their own father in cold blood," State’s Attorney Jamie L. Dykes said in a statement. "The Court’s strong sentence ensures that this Defendant will be imprisoned for the remainder of his life where he can no longer harm others in our community." The case was closed as of his sentencing in September 2026.
