Prosecutor: Cedar Rapids man knew using epithet would provoke violence from Devonna Walker

CEDAR RAPIDS — Shane Teslik, who is accused of voluntary manslaughter, told victim Devonna Walker with an expletive to shut up and then called her a racial epithet, a prosecutor said as the trial got underway Wednesday.

“This is not the first time and not the last time that you will hear this” during the trial, invoking the N-word epithet that plays a central role in the alleged crime, Linn County Attorney Nick Maybanks told jurors during his opening statement.

He said the racial slur is “extremely offensive, it’s an epithet and abusive.”

  Buy Photo

On Jan. 2, 2023, Teslik, who is white, used this “abusive” epithet when talking to Walker, who was Black, outside his apartment at 2135 North Towne Ct. NE in Cedar Rapids. Walker, 29, a mother of three, also lived in the complex.

Teslik was familiar with Walker from past incidents. He had a history with her and should have known the slur would provoke a “violent response,” Maybanks said.

Teslik, 38, is charged with voluntary manslaughter, a felony, and disorderly conduct-epithets/threatening gesture, a simple misdemeanor.

He is claiming he had the right to defend himself in his home against an unlawful entry by force of another, according to court documents. He also says he had the right to defend himself against the forcible felony of first-degree burglary, the documents stated.

Maybanks, in his opening, said Walker came at Teslik and punched him twice. Teslik, “upon provocation,” responded by taking a butcher knife and stabbing Walker in the left side of her chest. She died from the single stab wound.

This was an “unlawful escalation” of a verbal argument, Maybanks said. Teslik’s words and conduct escalated the argument into a “deadly” situation. But for his actions, Walker would be alive, Maybanks told jurors.

“This was provocation, not justification,” he said.

  Buy Photo

Maybanks said jurors could see and hear for themselves what happened that night because they will be shown videos of the incident. In the “final, deadly confrontation,” Walker’s actions were wrong but so were Teslik’s, he said.

Teslik’s use of force — a butcher knife — was disproportionate to Walker’s fists. The prosecution won’t defend her actions, Maybanks said, but her actions didn’t justify his action in return.

Victoria Cole, one of Teslik’s lawyers, in her opening statement said the prosecution won’t be able to meet its burden of proof.

During the trial, jurors will hear about December 2022 incidents between Walker, Teslik and Teslik’s girlfriend, Jessie Chavez, Cole said. Teslik had tried to break up a fight when Walker assaulted Chavez and her daughter, and he was assaulted by Walker, who had a weapon, she said. They called police, she said, but nothing happened to Walker.

In other encounters that month, Walker threatened them, Cole said. She was carrying a broom in one incident. They again called police, but nothing happened.

  Buy Photo

Then on Dec. 28, 2022, Chavez complained to the apartment management about Walker’s behavior. That night, she was approached by Walker and another neighbor. Chavez told the neighbor she had filed a complaint against Walker.

Cole said that during this encounter, the neighbor tried to end the confrontation and Teslik was repeatedly asking Chavez to come inside — but Chavez was “egging” on Walker.

Teslik told Walker to go around their yard, saying he would kill her if she came after them, Cole said, and then went inside the apartment.

The night of Jan. 2, 2023, Walker came over to ask the couple to back down, saying she was going to lose her home because of the complaint, Cole said.

Walker’s problem was with Chavez — not Teslik, the defense lawyer said.

  Buy Photo

Cole said Walker wasn’t triggered by the racial epithet that night. She was triggered instead by her circumstances at the time.

“He had every reason to believe she had a weapon because she did before,” Cole said.

Chavez, 44, started testifying before 6th Judicial District Judge Jason Besler excused the jurors for the day. She will resume her testimony Thursday. The trial is expected to continue into next week.

Comments: (319) 398-8318; trish.mehaffey@thegazette.com