VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — A 73-year-old man serving two life sentences is seeking to reverse his convictions and secure another trial, according to a court document obtained by News 3, which argues that the previous murder trial in Virginia Beach was not fair.
James King is currently serving two life sentences for assaulting and murdering Lexie Walters back in 2020 at a Virginia Beach Days Inn. It's not his first murder conviction: He previously served 20 years in jail for violently murdering a woman in Ohio back in 1986.
The court document seeking a new trial for King argued that Virginia prosecutors should not have been allowed to present previous evidence from King’s Ohio murder conviction. During the initial trial against King, prosecutors argued — and the trial court agreed — that this evidence shared enough similarities with the 2020 Virginia Beach murder case. However, the appellate argument claims this evidence did not meet the “modus operandi” standard, arguing it should have been rejected because the cases were not similar enough — specifically noting that they took place decades apart and in different states.
Watch previous coverage: Convicted Virginia Beach murderer denied geriatric compassion release
The brief argues that admitting a prior murder conviction in a separate murder trial was prejudicial against King. It reads: "by showing that the accused has a criminal propensity, tends to reverse his presumption of innocence of the crime on trial."
On Sept 5., 2025, the Virginia Parole Board denied parole for King and ruled that he will not be considered for eligibility again for another three years, the board told News 3. King was given this parole board hearing because there is a Virginia law that allows inmates over the age of 65, who have served a certain amount of time in prison, to be considered each year for geriatric conditional release.
Court records outline how, back in 1986, King went to a police station in Ohio and confessed to murdering a woman. He was convicted and served 20 years in prison. King was then released in 2007.
Previous coverage: Man gets 2nd murder conviction, this time for a woman found dead in Virginia Beach
In 2020, King went to Virginia Beach police and told them he woke up to a woman dead in his hotel room. King said he woke up at the Days Inn hotel on Bonney Road and found Walters dead on the couch but couldn't explain what happened to her. King told detectives he and Walters were seeing each other on and off.
Prosecutors said that, right before the murder, the two went to a bar for several hours. King and Walters left the bar and went to the hotel room he had rented at the Days Inn, where the murder took place. Walters was found dead by police after a brutal and violent attack.
Click here to see how we use AI at WTKR News 3.
