Man ordered to trial in stabbing of girl

Ten-year-old Tessa Walker was cut and stabbed 35 times, once in the heart, during the brutal attack that took her life and wounded her sister near their Lake County home in March, according to testimony at a preliminary hearing for the man charged with her killing.

A 32-year-old neighbor, James Pagan, will go to trial on charges that include murder, mayhem and attempted murder following a preliminary hearing Wednesday.

He faces life in prison if convicted of the charges.

No motive for the attack and no defense were presented during the "bare bones" hearing, which lasted just over an hour, said Lake County Chief Deputy District Attorney Richard Hinchcliff.

He expects the defense to argue that Pagan suffered from mental illness. Pagan's attorney, Ken Roush, could not be reached for comment Friday.

The attack stunned people living in the quiet, gated Hidden Valley Lake subdivision. Tessa and Kristen Walker, then 14, were walking on Firethorn Road just down the street from their house when they were attacked.

Kristen Walker, who has a mild form of Down syndrome, was stabbed in the back, Hinchcliff said.

She ran home and alerted her father, Ronald Walker, a Middletown physician.

He administered first aid to Tessa, but she died as a result of her many wounds.

Hinchcliff said Kristen Walker identified Pagan as the attacker. A steak knife matching a set in Pagan's home, which he shared with his mother, was found near the site of the attack, he said.

Pagan also faces charges of infliction of injury on a child, assault with a deadly weapon and special allegations that include the use of a knife and infliction of great bodily injury.

Pagan will be arraigned on the charges and further court dates are scheduled to be set on Oct. 6.

You can reach Staff Writer Glenda Anderson at 462-6473 or glenda.anderson@

pressdemocrat.com.