Rebecca Walker, the state’s former director of nursing, was found not guilty on all charges after she was criminally accused of falsifying drug test records of state employees under her supervision.
Walker broke down in tears Thursday as Superior Court Judge Francis Jones read the verdict.
“The state could not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that she (Walker) had an intent to deceive and that she or the other employees gained any personal benefit from the incorrect records,” Jones said.
Walker was indicted on three misdemeanor charges in April 2021 for reportedly fabricating employees’ records during her time as the deputy director of the Delaware Division of Forensic Science, claiming they passed drug and alcohol tests they never actually received, according to charging documents.
Walker was in charge of administering the tests from May 2015 to February 2020 as part of the department’s new policy to increase transparency and accountability.
Ahead of her criminal trial which began on April 12, Walker agreed to have Jones hear the evidence and render a verdict instead of a jury.
Walker and her attorney declined to comment after the verdict was read.
The trial saw testimonies from former employees of the state Division of Forensic Science who said that they were not subjected to a breathalyzer test when Walker’s records reflected they had been. State prosecutors said that Walker “slacked off and failed” to perform her duties as the chief substance abuse officer overseeing a drug and alcohol screening program at the department.
TESTIMONIES:Verdict looms after testimony against state official charged with falsifying records ends
According to prosecutors, the trial testimony indicated Walker brought into her state workplace, work for her doctoral classes, work for another class she was teaching, all while also working part-time as a nurse at Christiana Hospital and being a mother.
Deputy Attorney General Nicole Mozee said that Walker “yearned for praise” and wanted to be recorded as a stellar employee on her reviews, giving her a reason to falsify the records to make it appear as though she had met her work expectations
Walker’s defense attorney, John Malik, characterized the false record-keeping as a simple mistake and said that his client “never intended to commit any of these crimes.” During the trial, Malik called into question the memory of some who said they were not subjected to breathalyzer tests.
Malik disputed any reported benefits, saying there was hardly any time saved from skipping a breathalyzer test and that a hypothetical “ding” on a performance review is not sufficient to establish intended benefit in order to find his client guilty.
He noted that in order for Walker to be found guilty, prosecutors must show intent to defraud or misrepresent the test results, which ultimately formed the basis of the not guilty verdict on Thursday.
Walker, an attorney, nurse and a former state representative, assumed the leadership position at the Division of Forensic Science in 2015 after she helped create the agency as a state legislator.
She was hired as part of a complete restructuring of the division, formerly known as the Office of Chief Medical Examiner, which in prior years had been subject to high profile scandals over missing narcotics and other official misdeeds that led to lawsuits and chaos in the state’s prosecution of criminal trials.
As part of the new policies, Walker was in charge of conducting drug tests on employees twice a year along with randomized testing. She remained in this role until February 2020 when she left to work as the state’s director of nursing at the Department of Health and Social Services.
Contact the reporter Yusra Asif @ yqureshi@delawareonline.com
