KEENE, N.H. — A Swanzey, New Hampshire teen has been sentenced to 27 years to life in prison, nearly a year after fatally shooting 17-year-old Orange resident Christian Walker in the Riverside Plaza parking lot on Winchester Street in Keene.
Thomas Pickford, 18, appeared in Cheshire County Superior Court on Wednesday afternoon, when he waived his right to a trial and pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in front of Judge Anne M. Edwards.
“I feel absolutely terrible for what I have done,” he said in court, before offering an apology to the victim’s family. “I deserve this.”
On June 25, 2025, Pickford had arranged to meet up with an ex-girlfriend, who was a passenger in Walker’s pickup truck, in the Riverside Plaza parking lot to return some belongings, including clothing and a cellphone.
After the items were returned, snide words were exchanged and Pickford returned to his mother’s vehicle, which he had taken without permission. Witnesses later said they saw Pickford grab something, later identified as a gun he had stolen from his mother, and hang it out the vehicle’s window.
Pickford fired several shots, one of which struck Walker in the lower abdomen. Witnesses called 911 and he was rushed to Cheshire Medical Center in Keene, where he was pronounced dead at 1:49 a.m.
On Wednesday, Edwards heard from four of Walker’s family members and one close friend. Through the sniffles and tears of those sitting behind them, all spoke of their cherished memories with their loved one and the pain they carry with them every day.
“My son didn’t just live,” his mother, Ashley Walker, said in a victim impact statement. “He left people better than he found them.”
She said her son was a dedicated person and wanted to attend the Motorcycle Training Institute Inc. in Florida and eventually start his own business.
“It was an honor to be his mom,” she said. “We are not supposed to bury our children. My only son wasn’t supposed to go before me.”
Had he not been killed, Walker would have graduated from Franklin County Technical School in Turners Falls last week.
“My brother was more than a case number,” said his sister, Dakota Walker. “He was a face that we all looked forward to seeing on our hardest days.”
Edwards thanked each speaker and asked questions about displayed photos of Walker.
“I hope that all of you are seeking help to deal with [the] trauma,” Edwards told Walker’s loved ones, many of whom carried “Justice for Christian” signs and wore T-shirts emblazoned with “LLCW,” which stands for “Long Live Christian Walker.”
Edwards also addressed Pickford and acknowledged that while he likely had no intention of killing anyone that fateful morning, his “stupid decision” forever robbed a family of their loved one.
When asked her thoughts on Pickford’s sentencing, Ashley Walker said the verdict doesn’t take away the pain and it won’t bring her son back, but it is the best-case scenario.
