Lowndes County Sheriff's Office, Georgia
End of Watch: Saturday, June 18, 1955
Age: 41
Tour of Duty: 4 years
Badge Number: Not available
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Date of Incident: June 15, 1955
Weapon Used: Handgun; .32 caliber
Suspect Info: Sentenced to life
Deputy Sheriff Dick Walden was shot and killed while attempting to arrest a drunk driver he saw sideswipe another car at a drive-in. Not knowing that the driver and passengers had committed a murder the previous night he stopped to investigate.
After speaking with the driver, Deputy Walden returned to his vehicle to radio for assistance at which time the driver pulled a .32 caliber handgun and shot Deputy Walden in the back. Deputy Walden was able to return fire hitting the man four times before succumbing to his injuries. The suspect, his wife, and another female accomplice were arrested.
The previous night the suspect, 21, both women, and a 62-year-old railroad worker, were at a party in Thomasville. When the suspect, the women, and the man left in his car, they stopped at the Confederate Bridge in Thomas County, where the suspect beat the man to death with a blunt object and then propped the man up in the back seat of the car. He drove away with the dead man to Tallahassee, Florida. Returning to Georgia, he stopped near Valdosta and threw the body under the Withlacoochee River Bridge, the boundary between Lowndes and Brooks County. Later Deputy Walden saw the accident and was killed by the suspect. During the investigation by responding officers, they were informed about the man killed and where his body was dumped.
The man was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death after three separate trials. After the Georgia Supreme Court overturned his conviction the third time he was tried a fourth time, convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison on December 12th, 1956.
In the murder trial of the railroad employee, the man was convicted of voluntary manslaughter and sentenced to an additional 20 years. The man's 46-year-old wife was also convicted voluntary manslaughter and sentenced to 15 years in prison. On December 17th, 1956, the Georgia Supreme Court ruled that she was convicted with insufficient evidence and ordered her release.
Deputy Walden had served with the Lowndes County Sheriff's Office for four years. He was survived by his expectant wife and three children.