A Nevada couple pleaded guilty to killing their 3-year-old daughter after the father slammed her into a wall. For months, they told everyone she was with relatives — until his own mother told police what she had actually witnessed.
For months after 3-year-old Zaela Walker disappeared, her parents had a simple explanation: she was staying with relatives. It was a lie that held — until a grandmother could no longer stay silent.
Nevada parents Ricky Beasley, 34, and Lakeia Walker, 35, have both entered guilty pleas in the 2018 death of their daughter. Beasley pleaded guilty to second-degree murder; Walker pleaded guilty to accessory to commit murder. Zaela’s body has never been found.
Key facts in this case
- Beasley allegedly threw Zaela against a wall after she wet her pants, then searched “how to stop seizures in young children” on Google immediately after.
- His own mother — the child’s grandmother — came forward and told police she heard a loud thud, then saw Beasley clutching an unconscious Zaela.
- Walker told investigators the trunk of a vehicle Beasley possessed “reeked, like rotten meat.” The two later cleaned it using a vacuum and lemon-scented ammonia.
- Walker was recorded on jail phone calls telling Beasley: “You always say no body, no crime.”
- Walker also failed a lie detector test and made statements to investigators consistent with Zaela not being alive.
According to prosecutors, the sequence of events began when Beasley became enraged at Zaela for wetting herself. He threw the little girl against a wall. The grandmother, who was present, told investigators she heard a loud thud before seeing Beasley holding a crying Zaela in his arms. Shortly after, records show Beasley searched online for how to stop seizures in young children — a search that would later become critical evidence.
“The trunk of the vehicle reeked, like rotten meat.”— Lakeia Walker, in statements to investigators
Court documents show that Walker told police Beasley had taken Zaela from her for seven days and held the child “for ransom” before the couple together cleaned the vehicle’s trunk. Prosecutors say Walker and Beasley vacuumed it and used lemon-scented ammonia to eliminate the smell.
Even as investigators closed in, the couple tried to keep their story straight. Walker was caught on recorded jail phone calls with Beasley after his initial arrest, reminding him of their unspoken pact: no body, no crime.
Beasley faces a prison term of 10 to 25 years with the possibility of parole. Walker faces a term of one to five years. Both are scheduled to be sentenced on July 23.
Zaela Walker would have been 10 years old today. Her remains have never been recovered.
