Capital Murder conviction upheld for Phenix City woman accused of contract killing her daughter in 2007

PHENIX CITY, Ala. (WTVM) -This week, a capital murder conviction was upheld for an East Alabama woman accused of a murder for hire plot that resulted in the death of her own daughter more than a decade ago.

On July 12th, the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals decided to uphold the capital murder conviction of 51-year-old Lisa Leane Graham.

Graham, a Phenix City Native, was convicted of hiring a family friend, Kenny Walton, to shoot and kill her own daughter 21-year-old Stephanie “Shae” Graham in 2007.

Authorities say that on July 5, 2007, Lisa Graham met Walton and provided him with a 9 mm pistol. That evening, Walton met with Shea Graham under the pretense of helping her find a vehicle. He drove Shea to a remote area near Cottonton then retrieved the gun and shot her two times in the head and four times in the chest.

A man driving down the dirt road found first Shae’s body and alerted Police. Detectives say she had been shot raped, run over, and left for dead.

The evidence presented at trial showed that Lisa Graham arranged for Kenneth Walton to kill Shea Graham. Walton, who had served time in prison for drug distribution, was associated with the Grahams through his work for the family’s construction company.

Walton pleaded guilty to murder and is serving a sentence of life imprisonment. Lisa Leane Graham was sentenced to death in march of 2015.

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