42-year-old Massachusetts man sentenced to prison for fatally beating, strangling 61-year-old father

A 42-year-old Massachusetts man pleaded guilty in Norfolk Superior Court to second-degree murder the day his trial was scheduled to start for killing his father nearly five years ago, Norfolk District Attorney Michael W. Morrissey announced.

William D. Walling Jr. of Weymouth was sentenced to life in prison with parole eligibility after 25 years for fatally beating and strangling his 61-year-old father, William D. Walling Sr. in May 2020. He was also sentenced by Judge Michael Doolin to a concurrent 19- to 20- year prison term on a related charge.

The defendant was arrested at the Lochmere Avenue home he shared with his father after a relative called 911 for a medical emergency on May 16, 2020. On arrival, police found the father deceased on the floor and the defendant in his bedroom.

According to the Boston Globe, prosecutors determined that Walling Jr. suffocated his father with a plastic bag and intended to bury him in the backyard with a hole already prepared.

“I would like to thank the Weymouth Police and Massachusetts State Police detectives assigned to the Norfolk District Attorney’s Office for their investigation into this tragic crime,” Morrissey said.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Blair, chief of the Norfolk District Attorney’s Family Violence and Special Victims Unit, and Assistant District Attorney Michael McGee. Victim Witness Advocate Erika Connolly worked with family members assisting them through the court process.