The man charged with the 2016 murder of Church Point native Bethany Walters is scheduled to go to trial on what would have been the young woman’s 26th birthday.
The victim’s mother, Cindy Walters, said, “The judge set the trial to start on April 28 of next year. That would have been her birthday.”
Walters, of Church Point, was again present at Michael Anthony Guillory’s latest court appearance, a bond hearing before 27th Judicial District Judge Jason Meche, on Oct. 30 in Opelousas.
Meche denied bond for Guillory, 31, who was charged with second-degree murder on May 14, 2019.
“Judge Meche considered him (Guillory) a flight risk because of his previous offenses,” Walters said. “He was on the run (following the death of Walters), and he gave the Livonia Police Department a false name when he was apprehended.
“The judge was not inclined to give him a bond. He will be held without bond, and that is unbelievable. It’s nothing, zero, because he is considered a flight risk. Because of that, Judge Meche told both attorneys that he wants a speedy trial, and there will be no extensions.”
She continued, “His attorney suggested to the judge to be reasonable and at least set bail so he (Guillory) could go home and fight the charge with his family by his side.”
Jury selection for the trial will begin April 21, 2020, and the trial is fixed for April 28-30 and May 1, 2020. The minute entry from the bond hearing stated that the defendant’s attorney, Kenneth Willis, objected to the court’s ruling to deny bond in the case.
Guillory, a native of Church Point, was indicted on the second-degree murder charge on July 18. He then entered a plea of not guilty during his Sept. 26 arraignment before Judge Meche. At the time, Guillory was serving time on felon in possession of a firearm and unauthorized use of a moveable charges related to the 2016 incident.
Guillory was named a “person of interest” in the Jan. 25, 2016, shooting, which occurred at a home he and 22-year-old Walters shared near Lawtell. Guillory was arrested Jan. 27, 2016, for unauthorized use of a movable. He was jailed on that charge as well as a hold for probation and parole for another, unspecified incident, according to a Eunice News report from February 2016.
In December 2017, the victim’s mother hired Lafayette attorney John Tilly to help her find out exactly what happened to her daughter in her final moments. All available evidence in the case was turned over to Dr. James Traylor, associate professor of pathology and medical director of Autopsy and Forensic Services at Louisiana State University at Shreveport.
Traylor, who was hired by Walters, recommended further testing on the firearm connected to Walters’ death. After receiving the results of the testing, it was Traylor’s opinion that Walters’ death was a homicide.
In a May 26 Church Point News article, St. Landry Parish Sheriff Bobby Guidroz said Traylor’s findings were turned over to the Sheriff’s Office, and the information was then presented to a local judge who signed a warrant for Guillory’s arrest.
Guillory is currently incarcerated in the St. Landry Parish Jail.
“Had he not been charged (with murder) that (Oct. 30) would have been his release date,” Walters said.
Guillory’s public defender, Kenneth M. Willis, did not return a call for comment.
