Local dad charged with murder of son

LOCAL, from 1

Bullard refused to comment further but said that Walker did not appear to want the baby to be put through any more.

Following the trip to the pediatrician, Bullard went home and then took the baby to pick up Hillin off campus. The two traveled to c~pus with Talyn to visit some friends. Bullard then went back to her house in Conshohocken with Hillin to drop Taiyo off and show Hillin Bullard and Walker's new home.

Bullard left Talyn at home with Walker when she took Hillin back to her house. According to Bullard, Talyn was "conscious, responsive, alert and breathing." She had no reason to believe he would be otherwise, as she had left Taiyo with Walker quite often. When she returned home, after being out for around 35 or 40 minutes, Walker told her that he had put Taiyo to bed. Prior to that, Walkerhad played games on his computer with Taiyo nearby and bathed Talyn after he soiled his diaper. Walker also noticed that

Talyn was "fussy."

Pizza from the night before was sitting atop the kitchen table as Bullard was opening the refrigerator door. Walker called her name from upstairs, yelling that Talyn was not breathing.

Bullard and Walker raced the infant to Bryn Mawr Hospital, a move that is questioned by many, although defended by Bullard, who felt her only choices were Bryn Mawr Hospital and Montgomery County Hospital. "I still believe I got to Bryn Mawr a whole lot faster than I could have possibly gotten to Montgomery," Bullard said. "I feel comfortable that I did the right thing." Even with an ambulance, Bullard feels as though they would not have gotten to the hospital any faster.

Maneuvering through back streets and short cuts, Bullard drove whrle Walker administered CPR to the lifeless child. The couple would later find out that Talyn's heart had stopped en route to the emergency room. Bullard and Walker screamed Talyn 's name along the "hectic" drive, listening for his heartbeat.

The staff at Bryn Mawr Hospital was able to stabilize Talyn during the one-and-a-half to two hours that he was there. Children's Hospital of Philadelphia then transported Talyn from Bryn Mawr Hospital to their own.

It was not until the baby got to Children's Hospital that doctors began to suspect abuse. Dr. Matthew Cox of Children's Hospital contacted detectives to report a case of "suspected child abuse."

Dr. Cindy Christian, a specialist in pediatric trauma at Children's Hospital, examined the infant, upon which she reported that Talyn had suffered "an acute subdural hematoma, multiple rib fractures, a scleral hemorrhage in his left eye, multiple facial bruises and pleural effusion."

The criminal complaint said that Christian believed the trauma on Talyn's head to be consistent with "having occurred immediately prior to his presentation at Bryn Mawr Hospital." Christian said that Talyn's head trauma was a type that "could cause immediate cessation of breathing." In other words, the head trauma caused Talyn to stop breathing, therefore killing him.

Christian is also stated as saying that the fractures on Talyn's ribs included "older, healing fractures," as well as newer fractures.

Christian concluded that Talyn's injuries were the result of "severe physical abuse."

Hillin reported that when she arrived at the couple's house Walker was "yelling" at someone over the phone. Bullard said that Walker was "yelling, but it wasn't to the point of anger." She said that Walker even ~oked after he hung up the phone, saying it was like a telemarketer. Bullard said that the salesman, with a local Audi dealer, had been calling almost to the point of harassment in the past few weeks.

Bullard said, "He was having problems dealing with a specific car salesman who continuously called the house with information that was unnecessary, trying to get [Walker] to buy a car." According to Bullard, Walker felt that yelling at the salesman would prevent him from calling in the future.

Those who know Walker describe him as being "the nicest guy." Dave Schiff, a former coworker of Walker's, described him as being a "good dad." Walker was the father of two children from a previous marriage, ages four and five. Most people who knew Walker were in shock. One former co-worker of Walker's, who asked to remain anonymous, stated that Walker was a "very caring and devoted father."

Walker was considered to be a good employee and a hard worker who thought everything out. Walker's fonner co-worker talked about his love for games, basketball and his Acura. Walker was said to be soft-spoken, a man who loved to buy things for his children.

"He was like a big kid himself," one former co-worker of Walker's said. "The person that we knew, who was a loving caring father to his children, is not the person who committed this horrible, heinous crime."

Walker and Bullard met five years ago and lived together since August of 2001. Bullard said, "You don't get pregnant by someone, stay with them through the pregnancy, through the birth and through the child's entire life, which you do assume to be very, very long, if you don't trust them and you don't love them."

Talyn Walker was born on Friday, Aug. 8, and died Saturday, Sept. 21, at 2:00 p.m., after his parents made the decision to remove him from life support.

Dr. Edwin Liebennan, a forensic pathologist at the Philadelphia Medical Examiner's office, performed an autopsy on the body of Talyn, ruling his death a homicide due to head injuries. Upon the examination of Talyn's 11-and-ahalf inch by 22-and-a-half inch body, Lieberman found multiple injuries, including hemorrhages in both the right and left eyes, a healing rib fracture, a total of 13 broken ribs - seven on the left, six on the right - and a right side subdural hematoma.

Bullard still cannot bear to read the accounts of her son's death or the rumors of her and Walker's reaction. "I don't really know where Atlantic City came from. I have never been to Atlantic City. So, for me to say when my son passes away, 'Gee, maybe we should go to Atlantic City,' that's almost like me saying, 'Maybe we should go to Idaho.' Why would I say that?"

The impending media blitz has also been hard for Bullard to handle. "Dealing with the death of your child is very difficult and the situation, the media, the press, the journalists, the lights and cameras have made it so much the more difficult."

Listening to Bullard speak about Talyn, one cannot help but feel touched by his brief life. Bullard said she still talks to Taiyo "all the time" and feels like he is still with her. "Talyn was very strong; he was beautiful," Bullard said. Anger has not escaped Bullard as she tries to find the words to describe how she feels. Bullard feels robbed of her young son. "I think I have every emotion you could possibly feel."

Bullard finds her new home to be too painful, saying, "the house that we have, that home is where my son took his last breaths. You just don't want to be there." Bullard also spoke about how she misses being a mother. "I was more comfortable being a mother than not being a mother, and I can't wait to have more children. I would love to have IO more. I would love to be a mom again."

In the meantime, the engagement ring and chain that Walker just gave Bullard are not being worn. Bullard is trying to keep away any reminder of Walker, saying, "It's very difficult to have reminders of [Walker] around." Bullard said that the police have been very supportive of both her family and her, and continue to do so. Bullard also said that the nurses at Children's Hospital were "more than helpful."

Walker is set for a preliminary hearing before District Justice Francis Bernhardt on Oct. 3. He is being held without bail at the Montgomery County Correctional Facility.