Salisbury Man Convicted of First-Degree Murder of Father
SALISBURY, Md. – A Salisbury man has been convicted of first-degree murder, amongst other charges, for killing his father in Feb. 2025.
On Thursday, Jun. 4, a jury convicted 32-year-old Ja’Bril Walters following a four-day trial. He was found guilty of first and second-degree murder, first and second degree assault, illegal possession of a regulated firearm and ammunition, as well as altering physical evidence. Walters’s sentencing was deferred pending receipt of a pre-sentence investigation. He will remain in custody pending sentencing.
“The Defendant committed this heinous crime in cold blood,” said Wicomico County State’s Attorney Jamie L. Dykes. “The utter disregard he showed for the life of the victim was on full display in the brutality with which he committed the murder and the indifference he displayed in the months following his act. The jury’s thoughtful and considered verdict is a stark reminder that violence in Wicomico County will not be tolerated.”
In the early morning hours of Feb. 22, 2025, Walters shot and murdered his father. At 3:58 a.m., evidence showed that Walters received a Facebook message from his father demanding the he pay his fair share of the rent and associated expenses or he would be removed from their lease. As a result, Walters attacked his father, shooting seven gunshots at the victim. Each round struck the his father and resulted in his death at the scene. The victim’s body was discovered hours later when worried family members called police for a welfare check.
Following the commission of the crime, Walters fled the apartment and then the area. Investigators of the Maryland State Police Homicide Unit tracked Walters first to North Carolina, and then to Maine, where he was ultimately apprehended in Jul. 2025. Walters was prohibited from possessing a regulated firearm at the time of the murder due to his previous criminal history.
