COVINGTON, Ky. — A man convicted of manslaughter in a 2021 shooting that left a woman dead did not show up for his sentencing hearing on Monday and is currently being sought by U.S. Marshals, according to the Kenton County Commonwealth's Attorney's office.
Shane Walters, a Taylor Mill native, pleaded guilty on Feb. 2 to one count of second-degree manslaughter; he was arrested and charged two years prior, in February 2021.
This guilty plea was part of a plea deal, where prosecutors recommended a sentence of five years in prison for the manslaughter charge.
In 2021, 33-year-old Megan McCray was discovered dead inside Walters' Knollwood Drive home on Feb. 10.
Walters claimed he'd been teaching McCray to disassemble and reassemble a handgun when it fired unexpectedly; he told investigators he'd been pulling the trigger to release the slide and didn't know the gun was loaded.
McCray was shot in the chest and died from her injuries.
Although Walters claimed not to have been under the influence at the time of the shooting, police said a blood sample taken six hours after McCray’s death showed Walters had a blood alcohol content of .12.
It would have been significantly higher when McCray died.
Walters was scheduled to be sentenced on May 1, but he never showed. Assistant Kenton Commonwealth Attorney, Corey Plybon said this is the first court hearing Walters had missed.
"I'm not sure where Mr. Walters is," his attorney told the judge Monday.
The Kenton County Commonwealth's Attorney's office said he is wanted by the U.S. Marshals.
"We are looking for Mr. Walters, he will be apprehended, he will be brought to justice and he will face new charges," Plybon said.
He said victim advocates have spoken with McCray's family since the court hearing and they're feeling "extreme frustration, disappointment."
"There is no resolution in this case to bring justice to what happened to Megan McCray and for Mr. Walters to not show up to court after pleading guilty, it just further impacts and deepens the wound of this case," Plybon said.
Plybon said Walters' sentencing had been postponed once because of medical issues.
Neither police nor the Commonwealth's Attorney's office has not released any further information on the circumstances surrounding Walters' failure to appear for his sentencing.
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