Ryan Waller is the late victim of the burglary and shooting incident that took place on Christmas Day, which included the murder of his girlfriend. Waller’s story encompasses both tragedy and accusations of injustice. Rather than being labeled a victim, Waller eventually became one of the prime suspects in the tragic incident where he and his girlfriend were murdered.
He is also known on the internet as the one who interrogated the police for hours as he struggled after being shot twice in the head. His case ultimately also included civil rights violations and police misconduct by the police who did not immediately treat him to ignore his severe brain injury for hours. The case is also equally notorious for the fact that there is a lot of misinformation. In the follow-up interviews with Ryan’s family and friends who conducted many random people and media outlets, a list of conspiracies and allegations emerged stating that the police were not treating Ryan fairly and that there was more to the whole story.
Even the chief detectives and the entire police station were sitting on the chair. Read a full description of what actually happened, including all the gruesome details, the aftermath, as well as the descriptions of Waller’s life; his birth, girlfriend and more.
A Few Details About Ryan Waller’s Early Life
Ryan Waller in full Ryan Thomas Waller was born on February 12, 1988, according to his obituary.
Not much has been said about Waller’s history, but when he was younger, the suspect victim took an interest in playing the guitar. His father, Donald Thomas Waller or Don, once revealed that Waller was the type of boy who could rhyme his new son within moments of hearing his own tune.
He was also a lover of gadgets. While Waller was from Knoxville, Tennessee, he was living in Phoenix, Arizona at the time of his death and possibly even before that.
What really happened to Ryan Waller and his girlfriend Heather Quan on the day of the shooting?
It was sometime in the afternoon of December 23, 2006. Ryan and his girlfriend were sitting by the living room/or their own room when Larry Carver and his son Ritchie knocked on Waller’s door to get revenge for what was believed to be an altercation. that had happened in the past.
Heather and Ryan lived in a house they shared with another roommate, Alicia. Although Alicia had left the house that day. Ryan and Heather had rented the house and it was at the end of a cul-de-sac.
At that time, the deceased couple had only lived in the house for a month and a half.
When they reached Waller’s doorway, they called and Ryan came to see who it was. He reportedly knew who they were and was hesitant to open the door. Carver and his son nevertheless broke into Waller’s house and when the Knoxville native tried to close the door, Richie thrust his arm in and shot Ryan twice in the head.
Then he went to the room where Ryan’s friend Heather was sitting on the couch and shot her dead. Richie apparently killed her because the father-son duo didn’t want witnesses. Richie and his father also stole some weapons and a computer from the scene after shooting the couple.
From here, however, the reality of the incident has multiple stories.
Ryan’s most talked about story goes like this:
Sometime after the incident, Phoenix police arrived at Ryan’s residence and found Waller who, although he had been shot twice in the head, was still alive.
Shockingly, he was also able to report who the gunmen were. Police reported that Ryan had an extremely swollen black eye with some wounds on his nose and cheeks.
Waller’s other stories go like:
The shootings took place sometime in the afternoon of Christmas Day 2006, according to police. On the other hand, according to Ryan’s father, Don, he had called his son and his girlfriend several times to remind them of Christmas dinner.
After his son got no response, Don and his wife (Waller’s mother) drove to their son’s house. They looked outside and rang the bell, but there was no one in the house. Later they called the police.
Interestingly, Alicia had made it to the house before the police found Ryan and Heather’s bodies, but she hadn’t checked into their room. And strangely enough, she never ran into Don and his wife, even when they searched the house earlier. Although Ryan’s parents had approached the house while it was still daylight.
Alicia had come home exactly late that day, and the police arrived moments later. The police knocked on Ryan and Heather’s room, but got no answer.
The officers eventually saw the bodies through vertical blinds. Shortly after, they handcuffed the injured Ryan and escorted him to their car. The police did not allow Don and his wife to meet their son. They also did not take their son to the hospital.
Ryan went through a horrible interrogation phase
After taking him into custody, Ryan spent four hours in the patrol cars without medical attention. The next day around 5 a.m., Ryan was taken to the interrogation station.
Detective Paul Dalton questioned Waller while he was still injured and in pain. During the interrogation, Ryan didn’t say much other than that he wanted to go to sleep.
The police then asked about Ritchie and other things. The detective also apparently tried to get Ryan to say it was he who killed Heather, but he never admitted it.
Ryan was taken to hospital quite late despite permanent serious injuries to his face
It was only after several hours of interrogation that Ryan was treated at the hospital. And some time later, the police informed Don that his son, Waller, was in critical condition.
The doctors allegedly told Don that Ryan contracted a serious infection due to the lack of immediate medical attention.
Waller spent 35 days in the hospital recovering. Ryan lost part of his brain during his recovery. He lost his left eye permanently and even after he left the hospital, Ryan continued to have seizures for several years.
What happened to the people who shot Ryan and his girlfriend?
Almost a week after Ryan Waller left the hospital, police arrested Ritchie. The following week, Ritchie’s mother turned in his father, Larry. It was Larry’s son, Ritchie, whose conviction was first handed down.
Carver’s son, Ritchie Lee, had been convicted five years earlier for his father in 2008. He was given a natural life in prison without parole.
Police convicted Ritchie for Felony Murder, Burglary, Aggravated Assault and Misconduct with Weapons.
Initially, the court could not charge Larry because his wife refused to testify against him by exercising her prenuptial rights. Later, Heather’s family pushed for a new rule that nullified the aforementioned privilege, after which Ritchie’s mother had to appear in court. In November 2011, the court again charged Larry with first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, burglary and aggravated assault.
The case saw its final run when a Maricopa County jury found Larry Lloyd Carver guilty of more than one case related to the 2006 murder of Heather M. Quan in December 2012. The verdict panel also found Carver guilty of the attempted murder of her boyfriend, Ryan T Waller.
After ten days of trial, Carver’s conviction came with the possibility of spending the rest of his life in prison on January 25, 2013. Some report it was without parole.
Ryan Waller Parents Reportedly Still Seeking Justice
Several years after Ritchie and Larry’s convictions, Ryan and Don filed a lawsuit against police in Phoenix, Arizona. Don claimed that the police had given wrong information about the day the shootings took place.
Dalton, the detective who questioned Ryan, was also charged with tampering with evidence and creating his own stories about the case.
Dalton apparently had a controversial professional history, especially in the way he handled his past cases.
He had put blinders on the wrong person in the past and didn’t play by the rules to close a case. It is believed that the Phoenix Police Department is still under investigation for the way they handled Ryan and his case.
Even the US Department of Justice has contacted authorities involved in Ryan’s interrogation.
The reason Ryan and Heather Quan were shot
There are various speculations as to why Larry and his son tried to kill Waller and his girlfriend Heather. One of the reasons, as mentioned above, was that Ryan and Richie had previously been involved in an altercation with each other.
Waller and Larry’s son were roommates before and they argued with each other for a while. Some suggest Ritchie hit Heather, which Ryan didn’t appreciate.
On the other hand, there were stories that claimed that Ritchie and Waller had fought each other involving firearms. Ritchie also apparently had a conflict with Eric; he was the previous occupant of the house Ryan and Heather lived in and also Ritchie’s ex-roommate.
Some say Ritchie was just jealous of the nice things Ryan had.
Ryan Waller died in the mid-2010s
According to obituaries of Monument of Dignity and Legacy, Ryan would lose his life nearly a decade after the incident on January 20, 2016.
The Arizona resident died after a seizure that caused a brain eruption that resulted in fatal bleeding.
Ryan’s father chose not to charge Larry and Ritchie for his son’s murder, believing they had already been in prison for life without parole.
Where are his parents today?
Since their son’s death, Ryan’s father Don and his wife have largely remained out of the media spotlight. However, the late Waller’s father often shows up for one or two q and as.
Don often talks on various podcasts and gives interviews about his son; his childhood, what really happened that day and how he and his family are still seeking justice for their son. His last interview was supposedly in September 2021.
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