John Jefferson
Insets, from left: Stephen Walker and his alleged killer Johnny Rankin Morris (El Paso County Sheriff’s Office/Pearl River County Sheriff’s Department). Background: The sober living home where Stephen Walker and Johnny Rankin Morris were living together (KOAA/YouTube).
The body of a man who disappeared from a Colorado sober living home last month — with cops finding large amounts of blood strewn throughout the residence, sparking a search for him and another man who lived there — was found in a “wooded area” on Friday, prompting cops to charge the housemate with murder after he was caught on the run with a woman in Mississippi.
Johnny Rankin Morris, 46, has not only been charged with Stephen Walker’s murder in El Paso County but also a killing in Park County as well, according to local police officials. He was caught by cops in Pearl River County, Mississippi, on Dec. 30 for an unrelated crime and is now awaiting extradition on charges of first-degree murder, tampering with a deceased human body and tampering with physical evidence following the discovery of Walker’s remains.
Walker, 37, was reported missing by his family on Dec. 19, while Morris and an alleged acquaintance, Hailey Cole, also disappeared but were reported as “armed and dangerous” fugitives.
“From the onset of the missing person case on December 19, 2024, our investigative efforts have been ongoing and relentless, with cooperation and teamwork across numerous agencies,” the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office said in a Jan. 3 press release. “During the investigation, information was developed which led investigators to a wooded location outside of El Paso County, where a deceased adult male was located. The body of the deceased individual was recovered and has since been positively identified as our missing person, 37-year-old Stephen Walker.”
On Dec. 19, deputies in El Paso County said they got a call that Thursday night to go to a home in the 1800 block of Pima Drive in the Cimarron Hills area. “While on scene, deputies observed large quantities of blood in multiple locations throughout the residence,” according to the sheriff’s office. Morris and Cole, 43, were reported as being “armed and dangerous.” Walker was said to be “missing under suspicious circumstances,” but only as a missing person.
“He doesn’t bother anybody,” Walker’s cousin, Leona Neely, told local CBS affiliate KKTV. “He really doesn’t. He’s a good person. I don’t see anybody wanting to hurt him.”
Walker’s family told KRDO that the home in the Dec. 19 incident was a sober-living home where he and Morris both lived. It’s unclear how Cole was connected to Morris.
Authorities in Park County got involved after being asked to perform a welfare check on a home at the 1500 block of Campfire Road. Timmy L. Huston, 65, was reportedly found dead inside, with Morris being charged with his and Walker’s murders after deputies found Walker’s car less than two miles away from Huston’s home while investigators were probing Hutson’s death.
Morris and Cole are both facing charges of first-degree murder, aggravated robbery, aggravated motor vehicle theft, tampering with evidence of felony crime and conspiracy. Morris is being held without bond.
Alberto Luperon contributed to this report.
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