Man found guilty of murder after dumping 22-year-old woman on side of Highway 24

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- James Maurice Walker, the man arrested after a 22-year-old woman was found dead on the side of a highway near Cascade, has been found guilty of first-degree murder.

According to the 4th Judicial District Attorney's Office, Walker will spend the rest of his life in prison for the death of Dedrea Duncan on July 31, 2020.

Duncan was found on the side of Highway 24 with a gunshot to the head. Investigators found her body after a passerby called 911.

Walker was arrested more than a month after Duncan was found. According to the DA's Office, Walker murdered Duncan "in cold blood, over a drug debt owed to the 81st Crips."

Duncan's friends told KRDO she was an artist, with one friend describing her as "a free spirit, kind-hearted, loving, happy, funny, ego-boosting type of girl, with dozens of friends."

Duncan's brother said she had moved to Colorado from her home in California.