SALISBURY, Md. - The Wicomico County State’s Attorney’s Office has announced the conviction of a 32-year-old Salisbury man who they say shot and killed his father over a rent dispute.
According to investigators, Ja’Bril Walters received a Facebook message from his father Roy just before 4 a.m. on Feb. 22, 2025, demanding that Walters pay his fair share of rent or he would be removed from the lease. Walters then shot the victim seven times, prosecutors say, killing him. The younger Walters was prohibited from owning a gun at the time of the murder.
Roy Walters’ body was found hours later after worried family members called police for a welfare check.
According to prosecutors, Ja’Bril Walters initially fled to North Carolina and was ultimately caught in Maine in July of 2025 and extradited back to Maryland. On June 4, 2026, Walters was convicted of murder in the first degree, murder in the second degree, assault in the first degree, assault in the second degree, illegal possession of a regulated firearm, illegal possession of ammunition, and altering physical evidence.
PHOTO: Maryland State Police
“The Defendant committed this heinous crime in cold blood,” Wicomico County State’s Attorney Jamie Dykes said. “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.”
Walters’ sentencing was deferred pending a pre-sentence investigation.
