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A 22-year-old man has been sentenced to 35 years in prison for the murder of his girlfriend's grandparents, whose bodies were discovered buried in their backyard after their disappearance.
Lucas Anthony Walker pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree murder in the December 2022 deaths of Deborah and Larry Dutton, according to Washington County District Attorney Will Drake.
According to the federal criminal complaint, Walker used a .22 caliber handgun taken from the Duttons' garage to shoot Deborah before cutting her throat. When Larry, 73, confronted Walker after the gun jammed, Walker stabbed him multiple times in the face, chest and stomach.
"I think they both kind of wanted to run off together," Washington County District Attorney Will Drake told PEOPLE magazine, referring to Walker and his girlfriend Heidi Dutton, who was 17 then. The couple remained in the Dewey home, located 45 miles north of Tulsa, after the murders.
Following the Duttons' disappearance, police conducted a welfare check at the residence. Officers detected "a heavy odor of cleaning supplies and bleach," according to the criminal complaint against Walker. Investigators also found blood that had seeped through bedroom baseboards despite attempts to clean it up.
Ring security camera footage recovered from Larry Dutton's phone showed Walker and Heidi moving a sheet-wrapped body from the home, investigators said. An Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation anthropologist later identified disturbed soil in the backyard where the bodies were buried.
Both Walker and Heidi confessed after their arrests. Court documents indicate Heidi told investigators the killings were her idea, saying she had told Walker she "wanted them dead," the Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise reported.
Larry served as a Master Staff Sergeant in the U.S. Air Force before managing the Lt. William M. Milliken Airport in Eureka, Kansas. His wife, Deborah, was also an Air Force veteran, reaching the rank of Staff Sergeant before working as a chef.
Heidi faces charges including two counts of first-degree murder, conspiracy and desecrating corpses. Her plea hearing is scheduled for March 5, pending a review of allegations she made about physical abuse by her grandparents.
The Washington County District Attorney's office confirmed Walker will begin serving his 35-year sentence immediately. Heidi's attorney did not respond to requests for comment.
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