Roadside Incident Leaves Cop Dead, Homeless Couple Critical

"DRAPER, UT — A day before a Utah police officer was killed, a man suspected of the shooting was looking for money, showing off weapons and behaving strangely, the sister of another victim said.

"`He got out of the car and he was hyper, showing me a gun that has a laser and a machete and knives,` Vicki King said late Tuesday about Timothy Walker.

"Police believe Walker killed Draper police Sgt. Derek Johnson as he sat in his patrol car early Sunday after stopping to investigate a Volvo parked oddly along a road.

"Walker, 35, is also accused of shooting his girlfriend Traci Vaillancourt in the back before turning the gun on himself.

"Both remained in critical condition at Intermountain Medical Center as police waited to interview them about the shootings and a possible motive.

"King, who is Vaillancourt's sister, told KSL-TV that Walker was `bad news,` and had showed off the weapons on Saturday. Walker and Vaillancourt were homeless and needed money, but King said she only had $4.50 to offer. The couple had been living in motels for years and recently camped in the Volvo, she said.

"King described her 34-year-old sister as a one-time model with a rare blood disorder that disfigured her face and left her addicted to painkillers and dependent on Walker."

From SFGate.com...