JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A jury found Austin Walker guilty of attempted first-degree murder, armed burglary and aggravated assault related to a violent domestic incident against his wife. She testified against him during the trial.
May 14, 2022, JSO responded to a home on the Northside responding to a report of a woman suffering from multiple stab wounds. According to the State Attorney’s Office, a child ran to the neighbor’s home that night, reporting his father had a knife and was threatening his mother. JSO received another call from Walker’s father informing police that Walker had called him and said he killed his wife. She was taken to a local hospital with life-threatening injuries and survived.
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Austin Walker was immediately arrested. Records show a domestic violence injunction was filed against him in March, 2022. It states that Walker was physically abusive and his wife said she’d been choked and slammed against a wall.
The injunction added that Walker lived in Miami, but the woman stated that Walker would text or call her, or show up at her house. In the report, she wrote that she did not feel safe.
After the guilty verdict Thursday, Walker’s wife, Barbara, issued this statement: “I feel that until I was in the hospital recovering from being attacked by my spouse that I just wasn’t taken seriously. Domestic violence cannot be just viewed as a ‘he said, she said’ dispute, it can’t be swept under the rug or just seen as a ‘family issue’ that stays behind closed doors,” said Barbara Walker. “I am thankful the jury saw through his attempted manipulation and delivered justice to my children and me. This has been a long journey, but I look forward to one day being able to use my voice to help others and make changes in the laws in these situations before it’s too late.”
Walker now faces up to life in prison. A sentencing date has not been set, but the State Attorney’s Office expects it to be in late July.
The Hubbard House is a domestic violence center that has resources available for those experiencing domestic violence. They can be reached at a 24-hour hotline 904-354-3114 or text line 904-210-3698.