Thurman Walker's body laid to rest in Rose Hill Cemetery

- Compiled by Betty Jane Wilson, Society President

Thurman Walker, Valley Falls farm boy whose 1908 murder in Colorado was recently detailed in this column, was the youngest child of Jesse and Hannah Bunker Walker. He was born Sept. 2, 1888, and died Aug. 19, 1908, murdered by a companion, Cleveland Nunn.

Siblings of young Walker were elder brother Edwin L., who assisted Colorado deputies in the investigation of Thurman's murder; sister, Lena, brothers Jesse Franklin (Frank) and John H., who lived less than a week after birth, and sister, Mary Catherine (Kate).

His father, Jesse, a successful farmer and stockman, died in 1905, and mother, Hannah, died in 1914. Both parents are buried in Rose Hill Cemetery, Valley Falls.

Edwin L. Walker accompanied his brother's remains from Colorado for funeral services and burial in Rose Hill Cemetery.

Information sources: Farmers' Vindicator 1908 and Walker family history, 1800 to 1968 by Eunice Marie (Walker) Foot.

The society's museum will be open at 10 a.m. Saturday, July 30. Admission is free.

Murder of Thurman Walker, part 2

- Compiled by Betty Jane Wilson, society president

To Recap: Thurman Walker of Valley Falls had disappeared somewhere in Colorado. A decomposed body was found Sept. 12, 1908, in the Arkansas River bed near Nepesta, Pueblo County, Colo.

The coroner and deputy coroner determined there were no clues to identify the body so, careful measurements were made and preserved. The remains were interred where they were found and a small gravestone marked the burial place.

Deputy sheriffs and officers went to work on the case and Sheriff Potter of LaJunta took over the investigation. When he found the saddle used by Walker in a LaJunta secondhand store, Thurman's brother, Edwin, was called from his Kansas home to aid in the investigation.

Part II
"He (Edwin) identified the saddle as positively his brother's. Nunn, Walker's companion, became an immediate suspect, but he maintained that he left Walker sometime after they left Mantanola and Walker was headed for Texas. He was released from suspicion and he returned to work in the beet fields.

"Sheriff Potter was not content, and with Edwin Walker's assistance the decomposed body found in the Arkansas River was identified as that of Thurman Walker, aged 19 years, a farmer boy from Valley Falls, Kansas.

"Cleveland Nunn, the 20-year-old beet worker, was arrested a second time and taken to LaJunta where he continued to maintain his innocence. A severe sweating (third degree) broke down his story and he confessed he shot Walker; however, he said it was during a fight and he shot in self defense. The 'sweating' continued and he admitted the entire affair in a sworn statement to the district attorney.

"The tragedy occurred the same night the two left for the north. They made camp near the bridge over the Arkansas River and it was there the cleverly laid and planned plot was consummated."

Extracts from Cleveland Nunn's sworn statement were:
" 'We went to bed on the ground. I pretended to be asleep, but watched Walker close his eyes and start to snore. I got my gun from the holster and, holding it with both hands, pressed the pistol against his forehead. He moved and I nearly lost heart, but he was still asleep and I shot him through the top of his head. He was too heavy to carry to the river so I tied a rope around his neck and dragged him.' "

"Shot in the head while he slept, an experienced lad from Eastern Kansas was murdered for money, it was thought, he had on his person. All the perpetrator of the crime secured for the terrifying moments that preceded the crime, the torments which have pursued him for three months and will follow him for the rest of his life was a cheap watch and a saddle.

"He was charged with murder in the first degree and lodged in the Pueblo County jail awaiting trial."
Source: The Farmer's Vindicator, Friday, Nov. 13, 1908.

The historical society's museum will be open at 10 a.m. Saturday, July 23. Admission is free.

1908 disappearance of Thurman Walker, foul play feared

- Compiled by Betty Jane Wilson, Valley Falls Historical Society President
"Thurman Walker not heard from since Aug. 17" headlined the Farmer's Vindicator Friday, Oct. 30, 1908. The Harmon Publishing Co. (Valley Falls).
Part I
"Thurman Walker, son of Mrs. Jessie Walker, left here in the spring and went to Bisbee, Ariz., to work in a copper mill, but afterwards returned to Colorado, near Rocky Ford. Last August, he and another young man started off together, the other young man telling his stepfather he and Thurman were going on a fishing trip. But, Thurman told relatives with whom he was stopping and wrote home to folks here, that he was going with this young man to Wyoming, and told from what town he would write the next week. But, nothing has been heard from him since. This was Aug. 17.
"In a few weeks after leaving, the other young man returned to Rocky Ford with Thurman's saddle, bridle, and every day clothes and told that Thurman's horse had got sick and he had stopped an an irrigating plant to work. But, inquiry at this place shows he has never been there. After being faced with this denial, the young man has told several stories about the matter including how he came to be in possession of so much of Thurman's property.
"It is sincerely hoped that this is a false alarm and that Thurman is alive and well, but the fact that he has written home every week since he has been away, up to the time of leaving Rocky Ford on the 17th of August and no word being received from him since, makes the stories of his companion very suspicious.
"Walker, who had been writing to his mother regularly, was not heard from, and inquiries were established by his family, but, to no avail. The mother finally became frantic and large sums of money were expended in following up on clues that might lead to his whereabouts. "According to the brother of the missing boy, his mother finally had a vision. She saw him lying dead on the prairie and, so strong was her belief in the dreams, that the efforts of the family were directed toward securing the identity of all unclaimed bodies that had been found in the vicinity where he was known to have been. It was the vision and the subsequent inquiries that finally led to his identification.
"According to information local officers secured, both young fellows were employed on the Beatty Ranch near Manzonia, Colo. Walker is said to have made several statements to the effect that he didn't have to work and it is known that the family is in excellent circumstances and he would have inherited a small fortune on his 21st birthday.
"It was thought about the ranch that he carried some money on his person and that contributed to his disappearance. Nunn (his companion) is said to have told Walker of a ranch he owned near Cheyenne, Wyo., and promises of a large salary 'riding fences' induced the young Kansan to undertake the trip to Cheyenne."
In Part II
A decomposed body is found in the bed of an Arkansas River near Nepesta, Colo. Edwin L. Walker, brother of Thurman, joins sheriff's investigation.
The society museum will be open at 10 a.m. Saturday, July 16.