Man sentenced to prison for manslaughter, attempted sexual assault
A Las Vegas man accused of killing a woman, storing her body in a suitcase and raping another woman was sentenced Tuesday to between 16 and 40 years in prison.
Gary Walker, 57, pleaded guilty in December to voluntary manslaughter with a deadly weapon and attempted sexual assault.
Police have said Walker shot 22-year-old Morgan Amaya during an argument at his northeast valley apartment in February 2020, raped her friend and forced the other woman to help him clean up blood from the shooting.
Walker initially was charged with murder with a deadly weapon, kidnapping with a deadly weapon, two counts of sexual assault with a deadly weapon and five counts of sexual assault, court records show.
During Walker’s sentencing hearing, prosecutor Michelle Fleck said that while she does not believe Walker intended to kill Amaya, it “shocks the conscience” to think the other woman had consensual sex with him, as he has claimed.
“This had to have been one of the more terrifying experiences that a young woman can go through,” Fleck said, later adding that the body was in the apartment “the entire time that she’s forced to perform sexual acts on him.”
The prosecutor said that since Amaya’s death, her husband has been left to care for their now 3-year-old daughter alone.
Amaya was Walker’s roommate and was at their apartment with her friend on Feb. 4, 2020, after the two women had been released from the Clark County Detention Center, according to Walker’s arrest report. When Walker returned from work, he started drinking with the women.
Walker began arguing with Amaya and pulled out a gun during the dispute, the report said.
The other woman told police that Amaya tried to “jump in front” of Walker and take the gun, according to Brian Rutledge, Walker’s defense attorney.
Walker then raped the other woman at gunpoint, officials said. At one point, he had her help him place Amaya’s body in garbage bags and then into a black suitcase, according to his arrest report.
To escape the apartment, the woman lied and told Walker that she had a court date the following morning, and Walker agreed to take her, the report said. Once at the Regional Justice Center, the woman told a Las Vegas marshal that she needed help, and Walker was detained.
Detectives later found Amaya’s body in the suitcase at the apartment on North Nellis Boulevard.
Walker apologized to the women’s families during Tuesday’s hearing and emphasized that he had no prior contact with the criminal justice system.
“In 55 years I have never been arrested a day in my life,” Walker said while appearing over a video call. “I’ve never been arrested, never been convicted, not even a moving violation or parking ticket in the last 15 years.”
Rutledge asked District Judge Jacqueline Bluth to issue a lower minimum sentence due to Walker’s age, lack of criminal history and medical conditions. The attorney said Walker went through a psychosexual evaluation that showed he was not likely to re-offend.
Bluth said Walker’s lack of criminal history “doesn’t hold as much weight” with her because of the details of the sexual assault.
“When I think about individuals that need to be in prison, I think about people who kill people and rape people,” Bluth said. “And unfortunately in this situation, he has done both.”
If Walker is released on parole, he would be required to register as a sex offender and would be placed on lifetime supervision, according to court records.
Contact Katelyn Newberg at knewberg@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0240. Follow @k_newberg on Twitter.