Suicide note leads to arrest
An Allegheny Township woman was charged Wednesday for allegedly having sex with a teenage boy after it was revealed in her estranged husband's suicide note.
April M. Walker, 43, was arraigned later that day on 12 felony charges involving sex with a minor, including sexual assault and involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, according to court documents.
Trooper Jessica Titler, a member of the State Police Criminal Investigation Unit, outlined the charges in an sworn affidavit included in court documents. She said Walker's estranged husband, Mark Durnell — against whom she had filed a restraining order — died by suicide Sept. 30 after breaking into her Locust Lane home and setting her garage on fire before killing himself inside it.
Titler said while investigating the death, police found Durnell's truck near the scene. It contained a 29-page letter revealing accounts of sex between Walker and a teenage boy.
According to the criminal complaint, Walker told authorities Durnell manipulated her twice into the sexual acts, which allegedly took place in 2016.
State police made contact with the victim, who acknowledged the sexual encounters occurred, according to charging documents.
Walker remains in the Butler County Prison in lieu of $25,000 bail.
She is due to appear for a preliminary hearing at 2 p.m. Tuesday before District Judge Lewis Stoughton.
