Donna Walker sentenced to 18 months

April 2, 2004, Lebanon AP - With credit for time already served, a woman who
claimed to be a missing Boone County girl could be out of prison in
ten months.
Donna Walker of Topeka, Kansas, was sentenced Friday morning to 18
months in prison and four years probation for the hoax.
Walker reached a plea deal with prosecutors to avoid a trial.
She could have faced four years in prison if convicted on all charges.
Walker contacted the Sherrill family last year, claiming to be their daughter Shannon. The then-six-year-old vanished in October 1986 while playing near her mother's home in Thorntown, about 30 miles northwest of Indianapolis.
Several relatives of Shannon Sherrill attended the hearing. The family consented to the plea agreement and family members hugged prosecutor Todd Meyer after the hearing.


(Copyright 2004 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)