Rachel Walton, USU Professor and Leading Authority on Cold Cases, Dies At 77

PRICE, Utah — Colleagues, students and friends are mourning Utah State University Professor of Criminal Justice Rachel Walton, who died on the evening of Feb. 1. She was 77.

Prior to joining the USU Eastern faculty in 2007, Professor Walton was a career law enforcement officer serving as deputy sheriff and district attorney investigator for Humboldt County, California.

She was a pioneer in the field of unsolved homicide studies who authored the first text guiding this critical field, “Cold Case Homicides: Practical Investigative Techniques.” Among her career achievements, Walton successfully investigated the first posthumous pardon of its kind for a Native American man wrongfully convicted of rape and murder In California in the 1920s. She remained a staunch advocate for Native American rights and criminal justice throughout her career.

“Professor Walton was one of the most distinguished members of our college faculty, recognized not only for her outstanding contributions to the field of cold case investigation but also for her strengths as a teacher and mentor,” said Joseph P. Ward, dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences. “Her legacy will live on at USU through the success of the Criminal Justice program, to which she contributed greatly.”

Walton earned her Doctor of Education in Organization and Leadership from San Francisco State University in 2005, where she was the class valedictorian. After joining the USU faculty, Walton initiated and led an assessment of unsolved homicides in Utah between 1965 and 2005. Her professional expertise was widely sought throughout the U.S. and Canada by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the National Institute of Justice, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

“Rachel was the kind of mentor we should all aspire to be like,” said Judson Finley, department head for Sociology, Anthropology and Criminal Justice. “Rachel was a reliable guide for countless junior faculty members across USU and was also concerned about her students’ wellbeing. We probably don’t fully realize the many ways she helped her students and colleagues. We will feel Rachel’s loss for some time.”

Faculty in Walton’s department expect to establish a scholarship in her name. In the meantime, those interested in supporting scholarships for criminal justice students may give a gift in honor of Walton here.

A celebration of life is planned in Price for Feb. 13. For more information about services, please visit: https://www.mitchellfuneralhome.net/obituary/rachel-walton.