Violent thief killed ‘inseparable’ 6-year-old cousins with stolen police car
Raymond Walters, 32, had just been released from prison before he stabbed his father and stole a cop car.
A violent thief killed two ‘inseparable’ 6-year-old cousins with a stolen police car weeks after he was released from prison.
Raymont Walters Jr, 32, was driving a stolen police cruiser nearly 100mph through downtown Dayton, Ohio on Monday when he slammed into a minivan containing the young girls, identified as Penelope Jasko and Eleanor McBride.
The two girls had just been picked up by Penelope’s mother after finishing the first soccer game of their team’s season. Walters had just been paroled from prison for robbery on August 10.
Police say the incident began when Walters stabbed his father 14 times and stole his pickup truck.
Walters reportedly snapped when he learned his father was driving him to a hospital to undergo a mental health evaluation.
Investigators say Walters crashed the truck into a tree in a suburban neighborhood. When Riverside officers responded to the scene, Walters jumped in a police SUV and fled in reverse.
Police had not yet known about the stabbing and did not know Walters was a flight risk. Officers tried to use a stun gun to get Walters out of the police cruiser, but he took off.
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Dashcam footage shows Walters driving down the neighborhood in reverse as police chase him. He slammed into a parked car, then a police cruiser, as he tried to get away from authorities.
With police in pursuit, Walters ran a red light and crashed into two more cars in front of a library while going an estimated 97 mph. One of them was a minivan with at least six people inside, including Eleanor and Penelope.
Walters was injured in the crash and was arrested. Authorities say ten people were injured total during the chaotic chase. Eleanor and Penelope were rushed to the hospital, but later died.
The girls’ families have since started a GoFundMe campaign to help cover funeral costs, writing: ‘Cousins Penelope Jasko and Eleanor McBride have always been inseparable and are now in the joy of heaven, together as always.’
‘While the family grieves for this loss of life and light, two of their children continue to recover at the hospital.’
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Walters reportedly has a extensive criminal history including arrests for aggravating robbery, assault, drug possession, and menacing.
His father, Lloyd Walters, told The Dayton Daily News that his son suffered mental health problems after he was released from prison.
Lloyd said: ‘He wasn’t the same. He just started acting different.’
He said he attempted to take his son to a drug treatment facility a week earlier, but there were no open bed. Now, he says he feels terrible for the devastation his son caused.
‘My heart goes out to them. I’m very sorry that happened…I’d give my life for them if I could.’