At the 15th Judicial District Courthouse in front of Judge Michele Billeaud Zachary Markey Adams, 37, was sentenced to life in prison with hard labor.

LAFAYETTE, La. (KLFY)-- New developments have been made in a Lafayette Parish murder case of 29-year-old Jalen Walker.

At the 15th Judicial District Courthouse in front of Judge Michele Billeaud Zachary Markey Adams, 37, was sentenced to life in prison with hard labor. The sentencing started around 12:25 p.m. and lasted about 20 minutes. Marcelle B. Hoskins, the mother of the victim, was sitting waiting since 9 a.m. to hear the judge's sentences as she dealt with many other cases. 

“I've had a lot of mixed emotions since last week up until now," Hoskins said. "I'm glad it's over. It was a long process. I thank everyone who participated in this case,” said Hoskins. “It's a very difficult process, because the in-betweens of not knowing what happened from the time that he died that evening, right before dark up until now, no one really knew my side as a mother.”

She thanks those who allowed her to stand and give testimony on behalf of the impact on her son. 

In the testimony, Hoskins mentioned Walker was attending SLCC and dreamed of becoming a chief. He left behind three children who were his pride and joy. She recalled when she learned of his death. 

“I just dropped to my knees and prayed, 'No, God, no, please, no',” she said as she began to tear up. “I keep on praying and asking God, not right now, please.” 

Hoskins said her daughter had to ID her bother’s body which impacted her so much she left the state. She also mentioned in her testimony that she and her daughter tried to clean up Walker’s blood; she said there was so much blood. The blood-stained rocks she collected were put in a Ziploc bag and double double-bagged and brought home with her. Hoskins said even in the present day she has not been able to bury the rocks as she is not ready to let go. 

“It has no smell to it," Hoskins said. "Nothing at all, and it smells like his cologne. Honestly, it sounds weird, but it does and I've not buried it at all yet. I'm just not ready. It’s really hard, a hard pill to swallow because of where he was killed. It is hard for me to put a monument there because he was killed at someone else's house in the yard.” 

Even in the interview with News 10, Hoskins said she was wearing the same outfit she wore at her son’s funeral. Authorities said Adams and Walker got into an argument which led to Adams shooting Walker in the face. 

“Why did he kill him? We don't know. We just know that he had three opportunities to walk away and he didn't. My son was unarmed. He had a t-shirt, tank top shirt underneath, shorts, [and] flip flops,” Hoskins said. 

“The impact on the children, especially his son who was there at the time, is very traumatizing to him," she continued.

On Walker’s son, Hoskins said her grandson cries every day. He is struggling in school. All he knew was his father. She added he is in therapy but is concerned about what he has seen on the day of his father’s death. 

“He was really adamant about his dad being killed and in therapy, for him to draw the picture that he drew speaks a lot," Hoskins said. "To have a man with a gun, have a man lying down in a pool of blood. It's a really sad situation.” 

Although Walker is no longer on earth, Hoskins remembers the good her son did in the community. He was always downtown, feeding the homeless and making sure their needs were met.

“He wasn’t afraid to give," Hoskins said. "He gave to the people in his neighborhood. He gave to these people who were homeless. He didn't care if they were on drugs or not, he didn't judge."

“I thank God for my strength," she continued. "I thank God for carrying me, for grace and mercy, honestly and I thank God for me being a Christian woman, growing up in a Christian home and in church because I don't know what I would have done on honesty."

A message to those involved in gun violence she said, “I wish that these young children would think before doing things, think long and hard and I can't say just the young kids, because this man was older than my son. They need to think about the impact on family members, children, and their loved ones, before pulling the trigger. They need to also think about their family members when they pull the trigger, what they have to endure as well, going to court and back and forth.” 

In closing, she said, “I'm going to do everything I can to help with gun violence as much as I can and to encourage any mother or father that has had this happen to them and to let them know that the process is definitely devastating, besides funeral and burying your child.” 

Hoskins said she wants her son’s name to stand tall and forever remain in the community. She will be working to start a non-profit organization for her son’s dream of helping homeless people called Walker’s Second Chance. 

Latest Posts