Dallas Man Executed For Killing Collin County Real Estate Agent

A Collin County jury sentenced Chanthakoummane to death for beating and fatally stabbing Sarah Anne Walker, a real estate agent, during a robbery at a McKinney model home in 2006. As his mother, Phongsamout Thongpho, and other witnesses watched Wednesday from a viewing booth, a fatal dose of the sedative pentobarbital flowed into his bloodstream shortly after 6 p.m. Shaved-shaven and bespectacled, Khandakumman asked a spiritual advisor, a Buddhist monk, to be with him in the death chamber. The monk placed his hand over the condemned man’s chest – a first in Texas executions – while reciting a prayer. No one from the victim’s family was present. nor were any Collin County law enforcement officials involved in the investigation and prosecution. The slaying of the 40-year-old mother of two in the suburb north of Dallas shocked residents with its brutality and randomness and drew national media attention. It was clear from her self-defense injuries, police said, that Walker fought Chathakoummane as he repeatedly stabbed her and bit her in the neck during a wild struggle. A couple visiting a model townhouse in the Craig Ranch community found her body on July 8, 2006. Ten of the 33 stab wounds to her body were fatal. Kosoul Chathakoummane (Uncredited / ASSOCIATED TYPE) Handacumman, tied to a garage, turned his head and nodded to his mother before speaking his final words, thanking “my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ” and all the people in his life who “helped me through this the trip”. “To Mrs. Walker’s family, I pray my death brings them peace,” he said in a slightly trembling voice, before his eyes closed. A doctor gave the time of death: 6:33 p.m., about 25 minutes after the lethal solution began flowing into his hands.

The crime

Officers arrived at the model’s home to find the desk and chair out of place, a plant stand overturned and a pair of women’s shoes on the floor along with a broken hair clip and earring. Crime scene photos showed blood pooling and streaked across the dining room floor, indicating she was dragged into the kitchen. The assassin was injured during the fight. Blood and DNA found on Walker and in the house would lead to his conviction. When Chathakoummane was arrested nearly two months later, police noticed healing cuts and scratches on his hands. He initially denied being in McKinney, but then said his car had broken down in front of the model’s home. However, he maintained his innocence, claiming that he went inside to drink water and left without meeting anyone. The gun used to kill Walker has never been found. Not even her brand new Rolex watch and silver ring. Prosecutors said Khanthakuman targeted female real estate professionals, targeting them for robbery. Realtor Sarah Anne Walker was found dead in the kitchen of this McKinney model home in 2006. Chathakoummane “deliberately and repeatedly attempted to isolate a woman in order to commit the offense,” court records state. The first realtor she called brought her husband, which scared him. Then she saw Walker arriving for work across the street and went inside, detectives and prosecutors said. It was not his first time committing violence against women. At the time of the murder, Chanthakoummane was on parole for a kidnapping and robbery in North Carolina years earlier, in which he and another teenager broke into a home and tied up two elderly women. They held the women at gunpoint before stealing a car and running from the police. District Attorney Greg Davis, in an interview for the TV show Criminal Recordsshe called him a “psychopath and sociopath” who only cares about helping himself. A federal judge ruled in 2015 that Chathakoummane’s criminal history was “extensive and violent” and that he committed violent assaults and thefts as a juvenile. Anti-death penalty activists opposed Chathakoummane’s execution, saying his 2007 conviction was based in part on flawed evidence such as bite mark analysis and police hypnosis. Chanthakoummane sat on death row in Texas for 15 years while his various appeals wound their way through the legal system. Judges rejected his latest appeals, which challenged the DNA evidence used to convict him. Attorneys for the state argued that the DNA analysis was the strongest piece of evidence in the case and that additional tests of samples continued to point to his guilt.

The murderer

Chathakoummane was born in the US to war refugees who had left Laos to give their family a better life. His parents were poor farmers in Laos. His father also served in the Laotian military, helping the U.S. during the Vietnam War in the late 1960s before being “sent to a re-education camp after the Communist takeover in 1974,” according to court records. The family arrived in the US after Chathakoummane’s sister was born in 1979. After moving several times to find better job opportunities, they settled in Charlotte, NC when he was 5 years old. While his three older brothers led “relatively productive lives,” Chathakoummane had “a lot of discipline problems” even before entering the juvenile justice system, according to court records. That included “stealing from his siblings, going out late at night without permission and punching holes in the walls of the house,” records show. His family was also aware of his involvement with gangs as a teenager, his lawyers said. Defense attorneys said they did not ask family members to testify at trial because they, including his mother, believed he “deserved the death penalty” if he was guilty, court records state. Keith Gore, one of his attorneys, said interviews with the family indicated he was viewed as “evil, unruly and disrespectful of authority,” according to court records. He stole cars and violently attacked a classmate, landing him behind bars at the age of 15. But his behavior soon escalated, leading to serious felony charges when he and another teenager broke into the North Carolina home and held the occupants hostage. Chathakoummane was sentenced to 11 years in prison for kidnapping and robbery and was paroled in Texas after seven years. He was 25 when he arrived in North Dallas to live with his sister and her fiancé, looking for a fresh start. Friends and family members described him as a quiet man who did not want to return to a life of prison bars and handcuffs. After initially struggling to find work, Chathakoummane took a job as a delivery driver for an office supply company. However, his checking account was overdrawn and he saw the robbery as a way out of his predicament, prosecutors said. His attorney agreed during opening statements at his trial. “He wanted to rob her,” the defense attorney told jurors about Walker. “It didn’t go the right way and it killed her.”

The victim

Walker sold homes for 20 years and loved her job. Those who knew her described her as fun-loving, outgoing, successful and hard-working. She drove an expensive car and loved to travel. She recently divorced and had two sons. Sarah Walker Her father, Joe Walker, a devout Catholic, said in interviews before he died that he forgave his daughter’s killer. He did not want Khandakumman to be executed, preferring to spend the rest of his life in prison. But his other daughter, Jackie Mull, felt the opposite. “The evidence was overwhelming and showed the brutality of a cold-blooded killer. If the death penalty is reserved for the worst of the worst, I believe Kosul [sic] Chathakoummane earned a front row seat,” Mull said in a 2007 statement after the trial. Joe Walker spoke about his daughter and her murder in a video produced by the Knights of Columbus. Death Penalty Action, a group that opposes executions, shared this during a recent press conference on the case. Joe Walker said in the video that hundreds of people showed up for his daughter’s funeral in Dallas. He said he told those in attendance to pray “for whoever did this.” “On the other hand, I wake up in the middle of the night sometimes just feeling the 27 stabbings,” he said in the video. “Of course I’m angry. It would be silly to say I wasn’t angry about what happened.” He said he believed Chathakoummane would “repent” as his execution approached. But there would be no expressions of remorse. Chathakoummane adamantly maintained that he was innocent. Death Penalty Action released a recorded message from him, weeks before the execution, in which he called his sentence an “injustice”.

title: “Dallas Man Executed For Killing Collin County Real Estate Agent Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-25” author: “Thomas Maisey”

A Collin County jury sentenced Chanthakoummane to death for beating and fatally stabbing Sarah Anne Walker, a real estate agent, during a robbery at a McKinney model home in 2006. As his mother, Phongsamout Thongpho, and other witnesses watched Wednesday from a viewing booth, a fatal dose of the sedative pentobarbital flowed into his bloodstream shortly after 6 p.m. Shaved-shaven and bespectacled, Khandakumman asked a spiritual advisor, a Buddhist monk, to be with him in the death chamber. The monk placed his hand over the condemned man’s chest – a first in Texas executions – while reciting a prayer. No one from the victim’s family was present. nor were any Collin County law enforcement officials involved in the investigation and prosecution. The slaying of the 40-year-old mother of two in the suburb north of Dallas shocked residents with its brutality and randomness and drew national media attention. It was clear from her self-defense injuries, police said, that Walker fought Chathakoummane as he repeatedly stabbed her and bit her in the neck during a wild struggle. A couple visiting a model townhouse in the Craig Ranch community found her body on July 8, 2006. Ten of the 33 stab wounds to her body were fatal. Kosoul Chathakoummane (Uncredited / ASSOCIATED TYPE) Handacumman, tied to a garage, turned his head and nodded to his mother before speaking his final words, thanking “my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ” and all the people in his life who “helped me through this the trip”. “To Mrs. Walker’s family, I pray my death brings them peace,” he said in a slightly trembling voice, before his eyes closed. A doctor gave the time of death: 6:33 p.m., about 25 minutes after the lethal solution began flowing into his hands.

The crime

Officers arrived at the model’s home to find the desk and chair out of place, a plant stand overturned and a pair of women’s shoes on the floor along with a broken hair clip and earring. Crime scene photos showed blood pooling and streaked across the dining room floor, indicating she was dragged into the kitchen. The assassin was injured during the fight. Blood and DNA found on Walker and in the house would lead to his conviction. When Chathakoummane was arrested nearly two months later, police noticed healing cuts and scratches on his hands. He initially denied being in McKinney, but then said his car had broken down in front of the model’s home. However, he maintained his innocence, claiming that he went inside to drink water and left without meeting anyone. The gun used to kill Walker has never been found. Not even her brand new Rolex watch and silver ring. Prosecutors said Khanthakuman targeted female real estate professionals, targeting them for robbery. Realtor Sarah Anne Walker was found dead in the kitchen of this McKinney model home in 2006. Chathakoummane “deliberately and repeatedly attempted to isolate a woman in order to commit the offense,” court records state. The first realtor she called brought her husband, which scared him. Then she saw Walker arriving for work across the street and went inside, detectives and prosecutors said. It was not his first time committing violence against women. At the time of the murder, Chanthakoummane was on parole for a kidnapping and robbery in North Carolina years earlier, in which he and another teenager broke into a home and tied up two elderly women. They held the women at gunpoint before stealing a car and running from the police. District Attorney Greg Davis, in an interview for the TV show Criminal Recordsshe called him a “psychopath and sociopath” who only cares about helping himself. A federal judge ruled in 2015 that Chathakoummane’s criminal history was “extensive and violent” and that he committed violent assaults and thefts as a juvenile. Anti-death penalty activists opposed Chathakoummane’s execution, saying his 2007 conviction was based in part on flawed evidence such as bite mark analysis and police hypnosis. Chanthakoummane sat on death row in Texas for 15 years while his various appeals wound their way through the legal system. Judges rejected his latest appeals, which challenged the DNA evidence used to convict him. Attorneys for the state argued that the DNA analysis was the strongest piece of evidence in the case and that additional tests of samples continued to point to his guilt.

The murderer

Chathakoummane was born in the US to war refugees who had left Laos to give their family a better life. His parents were poor farmers in Laos. His father also served in the Laotian military, helping the U.S. during the Vietnam War in the late 1960s before being “sent to a re-education camp after the Communist takeover in 1974,” according to court records. The family arrived in the US after Chathakoummane’s sister was born in 1979. After moving several times to find better job opportunities, they settled in Charlotte, NC when he was 5 years old. While his three older brothers led “relatively productive lives,” Chathakoummane had “a lot of discipline problems” even before entering the juvenile justice system, according to court records. That included “stealing from his siblings, going out late at night without permission and punching holes in the walls of the house,” records show. His family was also aware of his involvement with gangs as a teenager, his lawyers said. Defense attorneys said they did not ask family members to testify at trial because they, including his mother, believed he “deserved the death penalty” if he was guilty, court records state. Keith Gore, one of his attorneys, said interviews with the family indicated he was viewed as “evil, unruly and disrespectful of authority,” according to court records. He stole cars and violently attacked a classmate, landing him behind bars at the age of 15. But his behavior soon escalated, leading to serious felony charges when he and another teenager broke into the North Carolina home and held the occupants hostage. Chathakoummane was sentenced to 11 years in prison for kidnapping and robbery and was paroled in Texas after seven years. He was 25 when he arrived in North Dallas to live with his sister and her fiancé, looking for a fresh start. Friends and family members described him as a quiet man who did not want to return to a life of prison bars and handcuffs. After initially struggling to find work, Chathakoummane took a job as a delivery driver for an office supply company. However, his checking account was overdrawn and he saw the robbery as a way out of his predicament, prosecutors said. His attorney agreed during opening statements at his trial. “He wanted to rob her,” the defense attorney told jurors about Walker. “It didn’t go the right way and it killed her.”

The victim

Walker sold homes for 20 years and loved her job. Those who knew her described her as fun-loving, outgoing, successful and hard-working. She drove an expensive car and loved to travel. She recently divorced and had two sons. Sarah Walker Her father, Joe Walker, a devout Catholic, said in interviews before he died that he forgave his daughter’s killer. He did not want Khandakumman to be executed, preferring to spend the rest of his life in prison. But his other daughter, Jackie Mull, felt the opposite. “The evidence was overwhelming and showed the brutality of a cold-blooded killer. If the death penalty is reserved for the worst of the worst, I believe Kosul [sic] Chathakoummane earned a front row seat,” Mull said in a 2007 statement after the trial. Joe Walker spoke about his daughter and her murder in a video produced by the Knights of Columbus. Death Penalty Action, a group that opposes executions, shared this during a recent press conference on the case. Joe Walker said in the video that hundreds of people showed up for his daughter’s funeral in Dallas. He said he told those in attendance to pray “for whoever did this.” “On the other hand, I wake up in the middle of the night sometimes just feeling the 27 stabbings,” he said in the video. “Of course I’m angry. It would be silly to say I wasn’t angry about what happened.” He said he believed Chathakoummane would “repent” as his execution approached. But there would be no expressions of remorse. Chathakoummane adamantly maintained that he was innocent. Death Penalty Action released a recorded message from him, weeks before the execution, in which he called his sentence an “injustice”.

title: “Dallas Man Executed For Killing Collin County Real Estate Agent Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-09” author: “Filiberto Mclean”

A Collin County jury sentenced Chanthakoummane to death for beating and fatally stabbing Sarah Anne Walker, a real estate agent, during a robbery at a McKinney model home in 2006. As his mother, Phongsamout Thongpho, and other witnesses watched Wednesday from a viewing booth, a fatal dose of the sedative pentobarbital flowed into his bloodstream shortly after 6 p.m. Shaved-shaven and bespectacled, Khandakumman asked a spiritual advisor, a Buddhist monk, to be with him in the death chamber. The monk placed his hand over the condemned man’s chest – a first in Texas executions – while reciting a prayer. No one from the victim’s family was present. nor were any Collin County law enforcement officials involved in the investigation and prosecution. The slaying of the 40-year-old mother of two in the suburb north of Dallas shocked residents with its brutality and randomness and drew national media attention. It was clear from her self-defense injuries, police said, that Walker fought Chathakoummane as he repeatedly stabbed her and bit her in the neck during a wild struggle. A couple visiting a model townhouse in the Craig Ranch community found her body on July 8, 2006. Ten of the 33 stab wounds to her body were fatal. Kosoul Chathakoummane (Uncredited / ASSOCIATED TYPE) Handacumman, tied to a garage, turned his head and nodded to his mother before speaking his final words, thanking “my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ” and all the people in his life who “helped me through this the trip”. “To Mrs. Walker’s family, I pray my death brings them peace,” he said in a slightly trembling voice, before his eyes closed. A doctor gave the time of death: 6:33 p.m., about 25 minutes after the lethal solution began flowing into his hands.

The crime

Officers arrived at the model’s home to find the desk and chair out of place, a plant stand overturned and a pair of women’s shoes on the floor along with a broken hair clip and earring. Crime scene photos showed blood pooling and streaked across the dining room floor, indicating she was dragged into the kitchen. The assassin was injured during the fight. Blood and DNA found on Walker and in the house would lead to his conviction. When Chathakoummane was arrested nearly two months later, police noticed healing cuts and scratches on his hands. He initially denied being in McKinney, but then said his car had broken down in front of the model’s home. However, he maintained his innocence, claiming that he went inside to drink water and left without meeting anyone. The gun used to kill Walker has never been found. Not even her brand new Rolex watch and silver ring. Prosecutors said Khanthakuman targeted female real estate professionals, targeting them for robbery. Realtor Sarah Anne Walker was found dead in the kitchen of this McKinney model home in 2006. Chathakoummane “deliberately and repeatedly attempted to isolate a woman in order to commit the offense,” court records state. The first realtor she called brought her husband, which scared him. Then she saw Walker arriving for work across the street and went inside, detectives and prosecutors said. It was not his first time committing violence against women. At the time of the murder, Chanthakoummane was on parole for a kidnapping and robbery in North Carolina years earlier, in which he and another teenager broke into a home and tied up two elderly women. They held the women at gunpoint before stealing a car and running from the police. District Attorney Greg Davis, in an interview for the TV show Criminal Recordsshe called him a “psychopath and sociopath” who only cares about helping himself. A federal judge ruled in 2015 that Chathakoummane’s criminal history was “extensive and violent” and that he committed violent assaults and thefts as a juvenile. Anti-death penalty activists opposed Chathakoummane’s execution, saying his 2007 conviction was based in part on flawed evidence such as bite mark analysis and police hypnosis. Chanthakoummane sat on death row in Texas for 15 years while his various appeals wound their way through the legal system. Judges rejected his latest appeals, which challenged the DNA evidence used to convict him. Attorneys for the state argued that the DNA analysis was the strongest piece of evidence in the case and that additional tests of samples continued to point to his guilt.

The murderer

Chathakoummane was born in the US to war refugees who had left Laos to give their family a better life. His parents were poor farmers in Laos. His father also served in the Laotian military, helping the U.S. during the Vietnam War in the late 1960s before being “sent to a re-education camp after the Communist takeover in 1974,” according to court records. The family arrived in the US after Chathakoummane’s sister was born in 1979. After moving several times to find better job opportunities, they settled in Charlotte, NC when he was 5 years old. While his three older brothers led “relatively productive lives,” Chathakoummane had “a lot of discipline problems” even before entering the juvenile justice system, according to court records. That included “stealing from his siblings, going out late at night without permission and punching holes in the walls of the house,” records show. His family was also aware of his involvement with gangs as a teenager, his lawyers said. Defense attorneys said they did not ask family members to testify at trial because they, including his mother, believed he “deserved the death penalty” if he was guilty, court records state. Keith Gore, one of his attorneys, said interviews with the family indicated he was viewed as “evil, unruly and disrespectful of authority,” according to court records. He stole cars and violently attacked a classmate, landing him behind bars at the age of 15. But his behavior soon escalated, leading to serious felony charges when he and another teenager broke into the North Carolina home and held the occupants hostage. Chathakoummane was sentenced to 11 years in prison for kidnapping and robbery and was paroled in Texas after seven years. He was 25 when he arrived in North Dallas to live with his sister and her fiancé, looking for a fresh start. Friends and family members described him as a quiet man who did not want to return to a life of prison bars and handcuffs. After initially struggling to find work, Chathakoummane took a job as a delivery driver for an office supply company. However, his checking account was overdrawn and he saw the robbery as a way out of his predicament, prosecutors said. His attorney agreed during opening statements at his trial. “He wanted to rob her,” the defense attorney told jurors about Walker. “It didn’t go the right way and it killed her.”

The victim

Walker sold homes for 20 years and loved her job. Those who knew her described her as fun-loving, outgoing, successful and hard-working. She drove an expensive car and loved to travel. She recently divorced and had two sons. Sarah Walker Her father, Joe Walker, a devout Catholic, said in interviews before he died that he forgave his daughter’s killer. He did not want Khandakumman to be executed, preferring to spend the rest of his life in prison. But his other daughter, Jackie Mull, felt the opposite. “The evidence was overwhelming and showed the brutality of a cold-blooded killer. If the death penalty is reserved for the worst of the worst, I believe Kosul [sic] Chathakoummane earned a front row seat,” Mull said in a 2007 statement after the trial. Joe Walker spoke about his daughter and her murder in a video produced by the Knights of Columbus. Death Penalty Action, a group that opposes executions, shared this during a recent press conference on the case. Joe Walker said in the video that hundreds of people showed up for his daughter’s funeral in Dallas. He said he told those in attendance to pray “for whoever did this.” “On the other hand, I wake up in the middle of the night sometimes just feeling the 27 stabbings,” he said in the video. “Of course I’m angry. It would be silly to say I wasn’t angry about what happened.” He said he believed Chathakoummane would “repent” as his execution approached. But there would be no expressions of remorse. Chathakoummane adamantly maintained that he was innocent. Death Penalty Action released a recorded message from him, weeks before the execution, in which he called his sentence an “injustice”.

title: “Dallas Man Executed For Killing Collin County Real Estate Agent Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-02” author: “Dorothy Bain”

A Collin County jury sentenced Chanthakoummane to death for beating and fatally stabbing Sarah Anne Walker, a real estate agent, during a robbery at a McKinney model home in 2006. As his mother, Phongsamout Thongpho, and other witnesses watched Wednesday from a viewing booth, a fatal dose of the sedative pentobarbital flowed into his bloodstream shortly after 6 p.m. Shaved-shaven and bespectacled, Khandakumman asked a spiritual advisor, a Buddhist monk, to be with him in the death chamber. The monk placed his hand over the condemned man’s chest – a first in Texas executions – while reciting a prayer. No one from the victim’s family was present. nor were any Collin County law enforcement officials involved in the investigation and prosecution. The slaying of the 40-year-old mother of two in the suburb north of Dallas shocked residents with its brutality and randomness and drew national media attention. It was clear from her self-defense injuries, police said, that Walker fought Chathakoummane as he repeatedly stabbed her and bit her in the neck during a wild struggle. A couple visiting a model townhouse in the Craig Ranch community found her body on July 8, 2006. Ten of the 33 stab wounds to her body were fatal. Kosoul Chathakoummane (Uncredited / ASSOCIATED TYPE) Handacumman, tied to a garage, turned his head and nodded to his mother before speaking his final words, thanking “my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ” and all the people in his life who “helped me through this the trip”. “To Mrs. Walker’s family, I pray my death brings them peace,” he said in a slightly trembling voice, before his eyes closed. A doctor gave the time of death: 6:33 p.m., about 25 minutes after the lethal solution began flowing into his hands.

The crime

Officers arrived at the model’s home to find the desk and chair out of place, a plant stand overturned and a pair of women’s shoes on the floor along with a broken hair clip and earring. Crime scene photos showed blood pooling and streaked across the dining room floor, indicating she was dragged into the kitchen. The assassin was injured during the fight. Blood and DNA found on Walker and in the house would lead to his conviction. When Chathakoummane was arrested nearly two months later, police noticed healing cuts and scratches on his hands. He initially denied being in McKinney, but then said his car had broken down in front of the model’s home. However, he maintained his innocence, claiming that he went inside to drink water and left without meeting anyone. The gun used to kill Walker has never been found. Not even her brand new Rolex watch and silver ring. Prosecutors said Khanthakuman targeted female real estate professionals, targeting them for robbery. Realtor Sarah Anne Walker was found dead in the kitchen of this McKinney model home in 2006. Chathakoummane “deliberately and repeatedly attempted to isolate a woman in order to commit the offense,” court records state. The first realtor she called brought her husband, which scared him. Then she saw Walker arriving for work across the street and went inside, detectives and prosecutors said. It was not his first time committing violence against women. At the time of the murder, Chanthakoummane was on parole for a kidnapping and robbery in North Carolina years earlier, in which he and another teenager broke into a home and tied up two elderly women. They held the women at gunpoint before stealing a car and running from the police. District Attorney Greg Davis, in an interview for the TV show Criminal Recordsshe called him a “psychopath and sociopath” who only cares about helping himself. A federal judge ruled in 2015 that Chathakoummane’s criminal history was “extensive and violent” and that he committed violent assaults and thefts as a juvenile. Anti-death penalty activists opposed Chathakoummane’s execution, saying his 2007 conviction was based in part on flawed evidence such as bite mark analysis and police hypnosis. Chanthakoummane sat on death row in Texas for 15 years while his various appeals wound their way through the legal system. Judges rejected his latest appeals, which challenged the DNA evidence used to convict him. Attorneys for the state argued that the DNA analysis was the strongest piece of evidence in the case and that additional tests of samples continued to point to his guilt.

The murderer

Chathakoummane was born in the US to war refugees who had left Laos to give their family a better life. His parents were poor farmers in Laos. His father also served in the Laotian military, helping the U.S. during the Vietnam War in the late 1960s before being “sent to a re-education camp after the Communist takeover in 1974,” according to court records. The family arrived in the US after Chathakoummane’s sister was born in 1979. After moving several times to find better job opportunities, they settled in Charlotte, NC when he was 5 years old. While his three older brothers led “relatively productive lives,” Chathakoummane had “a lot of discipline problems” even before entering the juvenile justice system, according to court records. That included “stealing from his siblings, going out late at night without permission and punching holes in the walls of the house,” records show. His family was also aware of his involvement with gangs as a teenager, his lawyers said. Defense attorneys said they did not ask family members to testify at trial because they, including his mother, believed he “deserved the death penalty” if he was guilty, court records state. Keith Gore, one of his attorneys, said interviews with the family indicated he was viewed as “evil, unruly and disrespectful of authority,” according to court records. He stole cars and violently attacked a classmate, landing him behind bars at the age of 15. But his behavior soon escalated, leading to serious felony charges when he and another teenager broke into the North Carolina home and held the occupants hostage. Chathakoummane was sentenced to 11 years in prison for kidnapping and robbery and was paroled in Texas after seven years. He was 25 when he arrived in North Dallas to live with his sister and her fiancé, looking for a fresh start. Friends and family members described him as a quiet man who did not want to return to a life of prison bars and handcuffs. After initially struggling to find work, Chathakoummane took a job as a delivery driver for an office supply company. However, his checking account was overdrawn and he saw the robbery as a way out of his predicament, prosecutors said. His attorney agreed during opening statements at his trial. “He wanted to rob her,” the defense attorney told jurors about Walker. “It didn’t go the right way and it killed her.”

The victim

Walker sold homes for 20 years and loved her job. Those who knew her described her as fun-loving, outgoing, successful and hard-working. She drove an expensive car and loved to travel. She recently divorced and had two sons. Sarah Walker Her father, Joe Walker, a devout Catholic, said in interviews before he died that he forgave his daughter’s killer. He did not want Khandakumman to be executed, preferring to spend the rest of his life in prison. But his other daughter, Jackie Mull, felt the opposite. “The evidence was overwhelming and showed the brutality of a cold-blooded killer. If the death penalty is reserved for the worst of the worst, I believe Kosul [sic] Chathakoummane earned a front row seat,” Mull said in a 2007 statement after the trial. Joe Walker spoke about his daughter and her murder in a video produced by the Knights of Columbus. Death Penalty Action, a group that opposes executions, shared this during a recent press conference on the case. Joe Walker said in the video that hundreds of people showed up for his daughter’s funeral in Dallas. He said he told those in attendance to pray “for whoever did this.” “On the other hand, I wake up in the middle of the night sometimes just feeling the 27 stabbings,” he said in the video. “Of course I’m angry. It would be silly to say I wasn’t angry about what happened.” He said he believed Chathakoummane would “repent” as his execution approached. But there would be no expressions of remorse. Chathakoummane adamantly maintained that he was innocent. Death Penalty Action released a recorded message from him, weeks before the execution, in which he called his sentence an “injustice”.

title: “Dallas Man Executed For Killing Collin County Real Estate Agent Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-09” author: “Kelvin Brooks”

A Collin County jury sentenced Chanthakoummane to death for beating and fatally stabbing Sarah Anne Walker, a real estate agent, during a robbery at a McKinney model home in 2006. As his mother, Phongsamout Thongpho, and other witnesses watched Wednesday from a viewing booth, a fatal dose of the sedative pentobarbital flowed into his bloodstream shortly after 6 p.m. Shaved-shaven and bespectacled, Khandakumman asked a spiritual advisor, a Buddhist monk, to be with him in the death chamber. The monk placed his hand over the condemned man’s chest – a first in Texas executions – while reciting a prayer. No one from the victim’s family was present. nor were any Collin County law enforcement officials involved in the investigation and prosecution. The slaying of the 40-year-old mother of two in the suburb north of Dallas shocked residents with its brutality and randomness and drew national media attention. It was clear from her self-defense injuries, police said, that Walker fought Chathakoummane as he repeatedly stabbed her and bit her in the neck during a wild struggle. A couple visiting a model townhouse in the Craig Ranch community found her body on July 8, 2006. Ten of the 33 stab wounds to her body were fatal. Kosoul Chathakoummane (Uncredited / ASSOCIATED TYPE) Handacumman, tied to a garage, turned his head and nodded to his mother before speaking his final words, thanking “my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ” and all the people in his life who “helped me through this the trip”. “To Mrs. Walker’s family, I pray my death brings them peace,” he said in a slightly trembling voice, before his eyes closed. A doctor gave the time of death: 6:33 p.m., about 25 minutes after the lethal solution began flowing into his hands.

The crime

Officers arrived at the model’s home to find the desk and chair out of place, a plant stand overturned and a pair of women’s shoes on the floor along with a broken hair clip and earring. Crime scene photos showed blood pooling and streaked across the dining room floor, indicating she was dragged into the kitchen. The assassin was injured during the fight. Blood and DNA found on Walker and in the house would lead to his conviction. When Chathakoummane was arrested nearly two months later, police noticed healing cuts and scratches on his hands. He initially denied being in McKinney, but then said his car had broken down in front of the model’s home. However, he maintained his innocence, claiming that he went inside to drink water and left without meeting anyone. The gun used to kill Walker has never been found. Not even her brand new Rolex watch and silver ring. Prosecutors said Khanthakuman targeted female real estate professionals, targeting them for robbery. Realtor Sarah Anne Walker was found dead in the kitchen of this McKinney model home in 2006. Chathakoummane “deliberately and repeatedly attempted to isolate a woman in order to commit the offense,” court records state. The first realtor she called brought her husband, which scared him. Then she saw Walker arriving for work across the street and went inside, detectives and prosecutors said. It was not his first time committing violence against women. At the time of the murder, Chanthakoummane was on parole for a kidnapping and robbery in North Carolina years earlier, in which he and another teenager broke into a home and tied up two elderly women. They held the women at gunpoint before stealing a car and running from the police. District Attorney Greg Davis, in an interview for the TV show Criminal Recordsshe called him a “psychopath and sociopath” who only cares about helping himself. A federal judge ruled in 2015 that Chathakoummane’s criminal history was “extensive and violent” and that he committed violent assaults and thefts as a juvenile. Anti-death penalty activists opposed Chathakoummane’s execution, saying his 2007 conviction was based in part on flawed evidence such as bite mark analysis and police hypnosis. Chanthakoummane sat on death row in Texas for 15 years while his various appeals wound their way through the legal system. Judges rejected his latest appeals, which challenged the DNA evidence used to convict him. Attorneys for the state argued that the DNA analysis was the strongest piece of evidence in the case and that additional tests of samples continued to point to his guilt.

The murderer

Chathakoummane was born in the US to war refugees who had left Laos to give their family a better life. His parents were poor farmers in Laos. His father also served in the Laotian military, helping the U.S. during the Vietnam War in the late 1960s before being “sent to a re-education camp after the Communist takeover in 1974,” according to court records. The family arrived in the US after Chathakoummane’s sister was born in 1979. After moving several times to find better job opportunities, they settled in Charlotte, NC when he was 5 years old. While his three older brothers led “relatively productive lives,” Chathakoummane had “a lot of discipline problems” even before entering the juvenile justice system, according to court records. That included “stealing from his siblings, going out late at night without permission and punching holes in the walls of the house,” records show. His family was also aware of his involvement with gangs as a teenager, his lawyers said. Defense attorneys said they did not ask family members to testify at trial because they, including his mother, believed he “deserved the death penalty” if he was guilty, court records state. Keith Gore, one of his attorneys, said interviews with the family indicated he was viewed as “evil, unruly and disrespectful of authority,” according to court records. He stole cars and violently attacked a classmate, landing him behind bars at the age of 15. But his behavior soon escalated, leading to serious felony charges when he and another teenager broke into the North Carolina home and held the occupants hostage. Chathakoummane was sentenced to 11 years in prison for kidnapping and robbery and was paroled in Texas after seven years. He was 25 when he arrived in North Dallas to live with his sister and her fiancé, looking for a fresh start. Friends and family members described him as a quiet man who did not want to return to a life of prison bars and handcuffs. After initially struggling to find work, Chathakoummane took a job as a delivery driver for an office supply company. However, his checking account was overdrawn and he saw the robbery as a way out of his predicament, prosecutors said. His attorney agreed during opening statements at his trial. “He wanted to rob her,” the defense attorney told jurors about Walker. “It didn’t go the right way and it killed her.”

The victim

Walker sold homes for 20 years and loved her job. Those who knew her described her as fun-loving, outgoing, successful and hard-working. She drove an expensive car and loved to travel. She recently divorced and had two sons. Sarah Walker Her father, Joe Walker, a devout Catholic, said in interviews before he died that he forgave his daughter’s killer. He did not want Khandakumman to be executed, preferring to spend the rest of his life in prison. But his other daughter, Jackie Mull, felt the opposite. “The evidence was overwhelming and showed the brutality of a cold-blooded killer. If the death penalty is reserved for the worst of the worst, I believe Kosul [sic] Chathakoummane earned a front row seat,” Mull said in a 2007 statement after the trial. Joe Walker spoke about his daughter and her murder in a video produced by the Knights of Columbus. Death Penalty Action, a group that opposes executions, shared this during a recent press conference on the case. Joe Walker said in the video that hundreds of people showed up for his daughter’s funeral in Dallas. He said he told those in attendance to pray “for whoever did this.” “On the other hand, I wake up in the middle of the night sometimes just feeling the 27 stabbings,” he said in the video. “Of course I’m angry. It would be silly to say I wasn’t angry about what happened.” He said he believed Chathakoummane would “repent” as his execution approached. But there would be no expressions of remorse. Chathakoummane adamantly maintained that he was innocent. Death Penalty Action released a recorded message from him, weeks before the execution, in which he called his sentence an “injustice”.