A jury convicted Phillip Carrington, the man who killed Celestine Walker in 2013, of second-degree murder on Tuesday. Carrington was first tried in November, but that trial resulted in a mistrial when jurors declared themselves hopelessly deadlocked after more than seven days of deliberations.
The jury’s verdict and Carrington’s sentencing comes approximately three years to the day of Walker’s death. Carrington, 51, strangled Walker to death in her Jamaica Plain apartment on Heath Street. She was last seen alive on May 11, 2013, which was Mother’s Day. Her body was found May 16, 2013.
Celestine Walker
Carrington and Walker had been in a relationship, and Carrington was physically abusive to Walker, prosecutors argued. Walker attempted to hide the abuse from her family.
Walker’s family members testified in court that they confronted Carrington after learning of her death, and after initially denying his involvement, they testified that he told them her murder was an accident.
On Wednesday, a judge sentenced Carrington to life in prison, with the possibility of parole after 15 years. Carrington was also sentenced to jail time for violating a restraining order Walker had taken out against him.
Walker’s daughter addressed the court before Carrington’s sentencing.
“We will forever have to live with the fact that such thoughtless, hateful behavior is what led to another human being losing their life before their time. From this day forth, our family has to battle with constant feelings of loss and loneliness,” she said.
The Suffolk County District Attorney’s office reminded victims of domestic violence that they should call 911 in an emergency. A statewide domestic violence hotline, SafeLink, is also available at 877-785-2020.
SafeLink is answered by trained advocates 24 hours a day in English, Spanish, and Portuguese, as well as TTY at 877-521- 2601. It also has the capacity to provide multilingual translation in more than 140 languages.
