Linn County jury convicts Cedar Rapids man of fatally stabbing Devonna Walker

CEDAR RAPIDS — A jury Monday convicted a Cedar Rapids man who prosecutors say provoked a Black woman during a 2023 argument by calling her a racial slur before she ran at him and punched him in the face, and he responded by stabbing her to death with a kitchen knife.

A Linn County jury deliberated about eight hours between last Friday and Monday, finding Shane Teslik, 38, guilty of voluntary manslaughter and disorderly conduct-epithets/threatening gesture, a simple misdemeanor, in the fatal stabbing of Devonna Walker, 29, on Jan. 2, 2023. The trial started March 26.

At sentencing, Teslik faces 10 years in prison. He also will be required to pay $150,000 in restitution to Walker’s estate or heirs, according to Iowa law.

He had no visible reaction when 6th Judicial District Judge Jason Besler read the verdicts and asked each juror to affirm their decision, as requested by the defense.

Teslik, who was free on bail pending his trial, was handcuffed and taken into custody. Voluntary manslaughter is a forcible felony so he will remain in jail without bail for sentencing, which is set for June 7.

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First Assistant Linn County Attorney Monica Slaughter said her office wanted to thank the Cedar Rapids Police Department for its “tireless efforts” in investigating the case and the many witnesses who came forward, cooperated and testified.

“But most importantly, we would like to thank the jury for their service and their dedication to justice,” Slaughter told The Gazette. “The jury sent a very clear message in this case. Spewing a racial slur at Devonna and then killing her when she responded to that provocation is against the law.

“The amount of force Shane Teslik used was a disproportionate response to the threat she posed and his actions were not justified,” Slaughter said. “The use of the “N-word” is dehumanizing and derogatory and unfortunately a part of our shared history. And history is exactly where that word should be left. We hope this verdict brings solace to Devonna’s family and the community who mourns her.”

The Walker family, in a statement, thanked the community for the “unwavering support during this incredibly difficult time.”

“Your kindness and compassion have been a source of strength for our family as we navigate through the loss of Devonna,” the family statement said. “Your presence and support mean more to us than words can express. We are grateful for each and every one of you.”

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Activists initially had protested regularly after Walker’s death, asking for an arrest to be made, and later held a town hall event at the Cedar Rapids library to discuss how Black people are treated in the justice system.

In response, Linn County Attorney Nick Maybanks issued his own public statement, saying, “There is no place for the use of this disgusting language in a civilized society. The careful consideration that we have been giving to this case should not be construed in any manner to be an expression of ambivalence to the hurt that so many people feel from watching and listening to this language. It is on the top of our minds.”

At the trial, Teslik testified last week that he was protecting himself and his home when Walker “charged” at him and his girlfriend, who was in between the two and was knocked over and assaulted as Walker made her way to Teslik.

According to video evidence and testimony, as the argument escalated between Walker and Teslik’s girlfriend, he got involved and threatened to kill Walker. He called her the racial slur just before she assaulted him, as he stood in the doorway of his girlfriend’s apartment at 2135 North Towne Ct. NE in Cedar Rapids.

Teslik and Walker, according to testimony and videos, had previous arguments, mostly over Teslik’s bulldog, which Walker, in the videos, said was aggressive.

Teslik, during his testimony, said he initially didn’t tell a police investigator he “hurled” a racial epithet at Walker before she assaulted him. He told a prosecutor, under cross examination on the stand, that he didn’t think it was important. Teslik said he used the slur to make her go away or “neutralize” the situation.

He denied using the epithet more than once that night, but Slaughter played a video of the incident that circulated on social media and noted he said the slur four times. The last time he yelled it, Walker had started walking away from his apartment but then ran at him and assaulted him.

A deputy state medical examiner testified during trial that the knife Teslik used to stab Walker penetrated her left lung and aorta, which resulted in her bleeding to death.

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The depth of the horizontal stab wound was 9 centimeters — about 3.5 inches — and the injury went from left to right and front to back, Dr. Jonathan Thompson, a forensic pathologist, testified. The wound, he said, was “one of the deeper ones I’ve seen.”

Thompson said the toxicology report, as part of the autopsy report, showed Walker had alcohol, methamphetamine, cocaine and marijuana in her system.

He couldn’t say to what degree she was under the influence of the drugs because some drugs can stay in the system longer than others and it depends if a person has built up a tolerance. Thompson, however, said those substances didn’t contribute to her death.

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