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David Walton will serve three years’ probation after an incident in a hotel bar led to the death of West Virginia jeweler David Ettinger.
In a Dallas courtroom on Monday, New York jeweler David Walton, 42, pleaded guilty to one count of injury to a child, elderly or disabled individual for his role in the death of 69-year-old David Ettinger (pictured), the longtime co-owner of Bechdel Jewelers in Inwood, West Virginia.
Dallas—A jeweler from New Paltz, New York, was sentenced to three years of probation after pleading guilty to his role in the death of a fellow jeweler following a trade show in Dallas last March.
Dallas County court records show that David Walton, 42, pleaded guilty Monday to one count of injury to a child, elderly or disabled individual in the death of 69-year-old David Ettinger.
He was sentenced to three years’ deferred probation, meaning if he completes the terms of his probation—which include anger management classes, abstaining from drinking alcohol and having no contact with the Ettinger family—he will not have a conviction on his record.
A spokeswoman for the Dallas County District Attorney’s Office confirmed that Walton will serve his probation in New York state, where he lives.
A longtime jeweler from West Virginia and a 17-year member of the Independent Jewelers Organization, Ettinger had just retired and closed the store he had co-owned with his wife, Lori Ettinger, when the two traveled to Dallas for one last IJO show.
The show took place March 9 to 12, 2024, at the city’s Hilton Anatole hotel.
According to accounts shared with National Jeweler, some attendees were hanging out in the hotel bar on the night of March 12, the last day of the show, when the confrontation between Walton and Ettinger took place.
Video of the incident, viewed by a Dallas police detective and recounted in the arrest affidavit, shows both Walton and Ettinger inside the hotel’s Media Bar & Grill with drinks in their hands.
Ettinger is then seen putting his drink down, walking up to Walton, and putting his hand on his arm.
According to what Walton told police, Ettinger approached him because of a comment he had made about Lori earlier in the evening.
A few seconds into their conversation, Walton pushed Ettinger by his neck, and the 69-year-old fell backward, striking his head on the floor.
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Dallas County court records show that David Walton, 42, pleaded guilty Monday to one count of injury to a child, elderly or disabled individual in the death of 69-year-old David Ettinger.
He was sentenced to three years’ deferred probation, meaning if he completes the terms of his probation—which include anger management classes, abstaining from drinking alcohol and having no contact with the Ettinger family—he will not have a conviction on his record.
A spokeswoman for the Dallas County District Attorney’s Office confirmed that Walton will serve his probation in New York state, where he lives.
A longtime jeweler from West Virginia and a 17-year member of the Independent Jewelers Organization, Ettinger had just retired and closed the store he had co-owned with his wife, Lori Ettinger, when the two traveled to Dallas for one last IJO show.
The show took place March 9 to 12, 2024, at the city’s Hilton Anatole hotel.
According to accounts shared with National Jeweler, some attendees were hanging out in the hotel bar on the night of March 12, the last day of the show, when the confrontation between Walton and Ettinger took place.
Video of the incident, viewed by a Dallas police detective and recounted in the arrest affidavit, shows both Walton and Ettinger inside the hotel’s Media Bar & Grill with drinks in their hands.
Ettinger is then seen putting his drink down, walking up to Walton, and putting his hand on his arm.
According to what Walton told police, Ettinger approached him because of a comment he had made about Lori earlier in the evening.
A few seconds into their conversation, Walton pushed Ettinger by his neck, and the 69-year-old fell backward, striking his head on the floor.
According to the affidavit, it was Walton who called 911, stating he had pushed Ettinger “in response to being attacked.”
Police arrived at the hotel a little after midnight, and Ettinger was transported to a local hospital with multiple brain bleeds, two skull fractures, and two cracked ribs.
He died around 5 p.m. on March 13.
Ettinger was a master jeweler at Bechdel Jewelers, where he worked from 1975 until he and Lori retired and closed the store in late 2023.
Lori told National Jeweler last year that her late husband loved his work.
“There was no project he’d reject. Whether it was a precious piece of jewelry or an attached belt on a favorite dress. He never said no,” she said.
Described as a “font of passion,” Ettinger also enjoyed playing golf, skiing, traveling, and spending time with his friends and family.
Walton originally was charged with aggravated assault causing serious bodily injury, a second-degree felony in Texas, and was released on $75,000 bond.
In June 2024, a Dallas County grand jury indicted the 42-year-old jeweler on a lesser charge—injury to a child, elderly or disabled individual with criminal negligence.
In Texas, this charge is classified as a state jail felony, an offense that is less serious than other felonies but more serious than a misdemeanor. It is punishable by a maximum of two years in a state jail and a $10,000 fine.
Reached by email Wednesday, Ettinger’s widow, Lori, declined to comment on Walton’s sentence at this time.
Walton’s attorney, Barry Sorrels, said his client is “a good man, husband, and father who deserves to move forward with a life that is not defined by one tragic moment.”
“He has respected the process and acted with integrity throughout the case,” Sorrels wrote in an email. “David remains grateful to those who have supported him through this difficult time.”
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