Neighbor charged in woman's beating death

The burglar who beat a 68-year-old grandmother to death with a frying pan as she walked into her Germantown home this month probably was afraid she would recognize him, police said.

They said he had good reason to think that - he lived next door.

Detectives yesterday arrested Corey Conaway, 18, in the death of Ellen Walton. The back of their homes face each other across an alley.

"She has known him his whole life," said Capt. James Clark, commander of the Homicide Unit.

While Walton lay dead and undiscovered for more than a week, he said, Conaway was joyriding in her Toyota.

"Just total disregard for what he had done," Clark said.

Walton, a retired social worker active in her community, was not found until the car was abandoned early Monday with two flat tires in East Mount Airy.

Someone who knew Walton went to her house on Magnolia Street to tell her the car had been stolen. A neighbor saw someone knocking on Walton's door and called 911, thinking a burglary might be taking place.

Officers who responded noticed Walton's back door ajar and found her inside. Detectives believe she might have been killed Jan. 8, 10 days earlier.

Walton typically parked in the rear of her house, so Conaway, who lives in the 6300 block of Homer Street, would have known she was not home, Clark said.

The robber was stealing several televisions and jewelry from Walton's home when she returned, Clark said.

The robber hit her with a frying pan, knocking her down, then beat her about the head until the frying pan broke, he said.

Clark would not describe how police had come to focus on Conaway, other than to praise the detective work.

A neighbor, Ronald Wilcher, said he rushed home from work yesterday after his 16-year-old son called with the news of Conaway's arrest.

He described Conaway as intelligent but said Conaway "became a hermit" after his father died about a year ago.

Wilcher said Conaway was being raised by his grandmother. "I hope he didn't do it," Wilcher said.

No one answered at the home yesterday evening. Shortly after 6 p.m., officers from the Crime Scene Unit went inside.

Wilcher described Walton as "one of the most beautiful neighbors - kind, always concerned."

Walton's son, Damon Walton, 29, of Harrisburg, said this week that his mother had worked with welfare recipients for the state until her retirement, then volunteered at her church and a food bank. He could not be reached for comment yesterday.

"She cared about everyone," he said Tuesday. "She never hurt anybody. So to know that somebody could do this is heart-wrenching."