Arson arrest results in capital murder charge

William Walden has been charged with Capital Murder and First Degree Arson in Itawamba County. He is accused of killing his mother and setting her home on fire.

The Mississippi State Fire Marshal’s Office investigated a burned two-bedroom mobile home on Brown Road on July 14, 2023. Deputy Rusty McCoy and Deputy Supervisor Jonathan Owens searched the scene and interviewed Walden on two different occasions. They named him as an arson suspect and, on July 15, Walden confessed that he had beaten his mother, Flora Walden, to death and then set her home on fire.

Walden’s bond was set at $250,000 and the Mississippi Department of Corrections placed a hold on him due to a previous felony conviction.