By the time witnesses knew brothers were at risk, it was too late

06:04 PM CDT on Thursday, June 15, 2006

By DEANNA MARTIN / Associated Press

BLACKHAWK, Ind. – Anita Joy Smothers saw Katron Walker all day at the lake, fishing and cooking hot dogs with his admiring little boys.

"All day I heard them say, 'I love you, Dad,' " she said of Collin Walker, 4, and his 2-year-old brother, Monte.

It was a brief illusion of family bliss.

Hours earlier, police say, Mr. Walker, 32, abducted his sons at knifepoint from his father-in-law's home. Police say that after hiding in a dilapidated trailer at tiny Dean's Lake, Mr. Walker stabbed the boys and dragged them naked into the water as authorities searched for them Tuesday night.

Officers rescued the youngest boy, but Collin was lost in 12 feet of murky water. His throat was cut, and stab wounds marked his chest when divers recovered his body.

The case illustrates limitations of the Amber Alert system in some states. Despite the knifepoint abduction, it took seven hours for authorities to issue an alert.

The process was slowed because Indiana does not normally issue Amber Alerts in child-custody cases, police said.

Bill Bergherm, Terre Haute assistant chief of detectives, said there was not "a lot of delay" in issuing the alert. But police first had to determine whether they had enough information to issue it, he said.

The Amber Alert system, created in Texas in 1996 in response to the abduction and death of 9-year-old Amber Hagerman of Arlington, is designed to notify surrounding communities of child abductions so people can alert police to suspicious activity within the first few hours of the crime.

Mr. Walker's wife, Theresa, had told him on Sunday that she wanted a divorce, and she moved into a shelter with her sons, authorities said. She filed an order of protection against him Tuesday morning, saying she had received a threatening call from him, police said.

Police say Mr. Walker took his sons from their grandfather's back yard at knifepoint Tuesday morning.

"My sister went out, and she was trying to get them back," said Michael Dwyer, the boys' grandfather. "He threw her down, and she came right back at him, and he kicked her twice in the chest."

The Amber Alert, issued later that day, ultimately led police to Mr. Walker when Ms. Smother's family saw it on television and called the police. Up to that point, Mr. Walker and his boys had spent the day playing in the water and roasting hot dogs.

Police found the van Mr. Walker reportedly had been driving near the private lake south of Terre Haute about 9 p.m. and surrounded the area.

As they scoured the area with search dogs, Mr. Walker ran from an abandoned trailer and jumped into the water, dragging his naked children with him, Chief Bergherm said.

Officers dived in after them and grabbed Monte but could not find Collin in the murky lake. A dive team found his body in about 12 feet of water.

Ms. Smother said she went into the water to help the children and demanded to know where Mr. Walker had dropped Collin. "He's grinning, and he goes, 'He's probably at the bottom of the lake by now,' " she said.

Police said Mr. Walker had self-inflicted stab wounds in his chest and marijuana and methamphetamine in his system. He and his younger son were hospitalized and expected to survive.

The coroner said it appeared Collin had been stabbed to death. Blood and a steak knife were found in the trailer, investigators said.

Mr. Walker was charged Wednesday with murder and attempted murder.

Vigo County court records show he was convicted of methamphetamine possession in 2003 and placed on probation.