December 5, 2025
PRESS RELEASE
(Escambia County) State Attorney Ginger Madden announces that her office will seek the death penalty against John Henry Walston, Jr., for the murders of two young children, V.O. (9 years old) and R.S. (7 years old).
On November 7, 2025, emergency responders were called to a house fire at Walston’s home on Flaxman Street. After firefighters extinguished the fire, the bodies of the children were discovered along with a deceased dog. Upon further examination by the Medical Examiner’s Office, it was determined that both children had their throats cut.
Walston was indicted by a grand jury for two counts of First-Degree Homicide, Sexual Battery on a Child Under 12, Arson and Animal Cruelty.
Walston’s next court date is January 13, 2026.
Assistant State Attorneys Bridgette Jensen, Trey Myers, and Frederick Longmire will prosecute the case.
