Suspect currently in custody in Tennessee

MILL SPRING — A Mill Spring man walked into an emergency room in Nashville, Tennessee, early Wednesday morning and told authorities he tried to kill his mother in Polk County. 

Police in Tennessee said Jack Walker, 27, drove his mother’s jeep to Nashville General Hospital with scratches on his hands. Police in Tennessee said they found a bloody shirt in the passenger seat of the Jeep. The Metro Police Department in Nashville contacted the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, who sent deputies to the alleged scene.

That is when they found Cindy Walker deceased outside her home, according to local authorities.

Polk County Sheriff Donald Hill said Cindy Walker was around 59 years old.

He said he is not sure if Jack Walker was from this area or why he went to Tennessee.

Jack Walker’s Facebook page said he graduated from Thomas Jefferson Classical Academy in 2010, and that he lives in West Asheville and is from Mill Spring.

Hill said he got the call around 6 a.m. Wednesday.

“The officers were dispatched to the residence for health and welfare,” Hill said.

Hill has not disclosed how Cindy Walker was killed, but did say Jack Walker is currently in custody in Tennessee. Hill said he knows what kind of weapon was used, but will not know until the autopsy is completed exactly how she died. The autopsy is being performed in Winston Salem.

Hill said it is up to the district attorney when Jack Walker will be transported back to Polk County.

Polk County turned the investigation over to the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation. Hill said that was done because of the recent election and the transition that is about to occur. Hill is leaving office in a few weeks, as he did not seek re-election this year.

Sheriff-elect Tim Wright will be sworn into office on Dec. 3.

The death occurred near Polk Central Elementary School at 1801 Highway 9 S., Mill Spring.

Hill said officers immediately called the school system since it happened where children were going to be near.

“The first call was to the school,” Hill said.

Hill said he wanted parents and teachers to know there was nothing to worry about and that the area is safe and the suspect was already in custody.

“Keep the family in your thoughts and prayers,” Hill said. “You have a loss of one, but then you have another individual whose life is going to be ruined now.”