Ervin Cherry, a Hastings, Florida man, was sentenced to life in a Florida prison in 1995 after convictions for the murders of Wanda Robinson in St. Johns County in 1993 and Christina Cooper in Putnam County in 1994. On May 10, 2010, when he was 44, a St. Johns County grand jury indicted him on what was described as a third charge of murder, in the March 1994 death of Katherine Walker in Hastings.
Wanda Robinson died in St. Johns County in 1993. Christina Cooper died in Putnam County in 1994. Cherry was arrested in Savannah, Georgia, on February 21, 1994, on a separate charge, and was later convicted of the two murders. In 1995 he received a sentence of life in prison in Florida.
Katherine Walker died in March 1994 in the Hastings area. When Cherry was first questioned in the other cases, and at later reviews, he denied any involvement in her death.
In March 2010 detectives of the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office Cold Case Unit reopened the Walker investigation and brought Cherry back to St. Johns County from prison. They believed the same man was responsible for all three deaths, which had occurred within four months of one another. In an interview that month, Cherry admitted to the Walker killing.
On May 10, 2010, the grand jury returned an indictment on a third charge of murder against Cherry in the death of Katherine Walker. He was already serving the life term from 1995. The Walker death stands as charged only: an indictment, not a conviction.
An indictment is a charge returned by a grand jury, not a finding of guilt. Cherry's two earlier convictions did not decide the Walker charge.
The Walker death is charged only; no conviction for it has been reported. Cherry's admission in March 2010 and the detectives' belief that one man was responsible for all three deaths are accounts of the investigation, not court findings.
1993: Wanda Robinson dies in St. Johns County.
March 1994: Katherine Walker dies in Hastings.
1994: Christina Cooper dies in Putnam County.
February 21, 1994: Cherry is arrested in Savannah, Georgia, on a separate charge.
1995: Cherry is sentenced to life in a Florida prison for two murders.
March 2010: The Cold Case Unit reopens the Walker case and Cherry admits to it.
May 10, 2010: A St. Johns County grand jury indicts Cherry on a third charge of murder.