Guilty Verdicts in Double Murder Trial of Camden Man

Madison and Rankin Counties’ District Attorney Bubba Bramlett announced today that Walter Simpson, 47, was convicted after a jury trial of the double murders of his wife and stepdaughter.

On June 5, 2018, the Madison County Sheriff’s Department was dispatched to Crown Road located in the Camden area to a home belonging to Walter and Falonda Simpson as well as her daughter Davonda Washington. When they arrived on scene they found two badly burned bodies inside the home. Each victim had suffered multiple stab wounds and were both deceased.

Through a complex, multi-agency investigation involving the Madison County Sheriff’s Department, MBI, Madison Police Department, the State Fire Marshals, and others, authorities were able to determine that Simpson had stabbed his step-daughter and wife to death and then attempted to set their bodies and the house on fire.

The investigation also led to the discovery that Simpson was making unwanted sexual advances towards his young adult step-daughter. When Washington confided to her mother about the sexual advances, the mother came to the family home to confront Simpson and demand he leave the residence. However, Simpson refused, became angered, and stabbed Falonda Simpson four times and Davonda Washington 54 times. He then set the bodies on fire and left the residence.

Officers were able to use GPS to track Simpson to Winona to a burn pile where officers believe he destroyed the clothing he was wearing and other evidence from the crime scene.

Simpson was found guilty of two counts of First Degree Murder, one count of First Degree Arson, and one count of Possession of a Weapon by a Convicted Felon. Simpson had previously been convicted of stabbing a girlfriend, causing her to lose her eye, in 1998.

District Attorney Bramlett stated “First, our thoughts and prayers go out to the families of both Davonda Washington and Falonda Simpson. We are, as always, appreciative of our dedicated law enforcement agencies that worked to make sure that justice was served for both women. No person deserves to have their life cut short, especially not in such a brutally, violent way. And finally, I am so proud of all the men and women in our District Attorney’s Office who have been all hands on deck this past month in obtaining six murder convictions.”

Walter Simpson is set to be sentenced January 4, 2021.

Defendant:

Name: Walter Simpson

Date of Birth: 11/28/1972

Found Guilty of Two Counts of First Degree Murder; First Degree Arson, and Felon in Possession of a Weapon. Sentencing Set for January 4, 2020.