The Virginia State Police are investigating the shooting death of Mathews County’s top prosecutor on Tuesday.
Commonwealth’s Attorney T. Marie Walls was found dead in her home of an apparent gunshot wound, the State Police said. The shooting occurred inside Walls’ home, in the 4500 block of New Point Comfort Highway in Mathews.
The State Police did not elaborate on how the shooting occurred, but added that “there is no indication a suspect is involved.”
Robin Lawson, the State Police’s director of media relations, said the shooting occurred Tuesday morning, but she did not immediately have an exact time.
Walls, 58, a Williamsburg native, was elected Mathews County Commonwealth’s Attorney in November 2023, replacing longtime Commonwealth’s Attorney Tom C. Bowen III.
She also served as chief deputy commonwealth’s attorney in Gloucester and Suffolk.
Mathews Sheriff April L. Edwards referred the investigation to the Virginia State Police, with Edwards’ office referring a call from the Daily Press and The Virginian-Pilot to the State Police. The state agency is now leading the probe.
“At the request of the Mathews County Sheriff’s Office, the Virginia State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation Chesapeake Field Office is conducting a death investigation in the county,” State Police spokesman Matt Demlein said in an email Tuesday afternoon.
“This is an active investigation, and additional information will be provided when available,” he added.
According to Walls’ campaign website, she grew up in Williamsburg. After graduating from North Dakota School of Law, she worked for Legal Aid offices on the Eastern Shore, Williamsburg and Hampton.
She later became a prosecutor in Suffolk while teaching at Christopher Newport University and at William & Mary. She also led the Child Abuse Program at Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters, becoming an expert on how to interview abused and neglected children.
Peter Dujardin, 757-897-2062, pdujardin@dailypress.com
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