Pike County man sentenced to life in prison

WVAS | By Melanie Hogan

Published January 7, 2024 at 7:30 PM EST

A 40-year-old man will spend the rest of his life behind bars for killing the mother of several of his children.

40-year-old Michael Deramus Walker pleaded guilty to capital murder Thursday in the Pike County Circuit Court.

Court records show Walker shot his girlfriend, Melissa Lanny Pelton several times at their Troy home in 2019.

The shooting took place where the couple lived with their five children together plus one from Walker’s previous relationship. All were under the age of 14 at the time. According to court documents at least one of the children witnessed the shooting.

Walker has been sentenced to life without parole.

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Melanie Hogan

Contact: mhogan@alasu.edu

Melanie began her career as a work study student, working in the areas of news reporting, anchoring and news-gathering. After graduating from Alabama State University, she worked as a production assistant at the local NBC affiliate, WSFA-TV. As a News Director at WVAS-FM, Melanie leads her team to produce award-winning newscasts and talk shows. Her professional achievements includes News Reporter of the Year for a number of years and awards for Talk Show Producer, by the Alabama Broadcasters Association and the Associated Press. She is an active member of the Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce. Her goals are to expand the reach of WVAS FM into more homes locally, regionally and nationally.

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