Slain Bellingham man ‘was the best brother anyone could ask for’
A Bellingham man who was slain at a Halloween party last week is being mourned as a kind-hearted father who was trying to learn a trade and raise his 6-year-old daughter on his own.
Xyrone March-Walker, 21, was standing next to his sister on the porch of a house in the Sehome Hill neighborhood when he was shot in the chest at point-blank range just before midnight Friday, Oct. 28, according to a probable cause statement filed against the suspect by Bellingham Police.
March-Walker died a few minutes later, as bystanders and his sister tried in vain to save him by putting pressure on his wound and performing CPR until firefighters arrived.
“He was the best brother anyone could ask for,” his sister Nyssa March-Walker told The Bellingham Herald in a telephone interview.
Nyssa, 19, said Xyrone had a “goofy” personality but he was protective of his little sister during the years they were in foster care — sometimes together and sometimes apart.
“He was loving and supportive. He was always there when people needed him,” Nyssa said.
Xyrone’s daughter Maehlani is living with Nyssa and her three children and Nyssa hopes her niece will be able to stay.
“She needs to be around the people she knows,” Nyssa said.
“It’s an unfair world. It’s hard seeing Maehlani go through those stages” of grieving, Nyssa said.
“Not only was my brother robbed of his life, but his 6-year-old daughter was robbed of her father,” she said.
Xyrone attended Bellingham schools but he dropped out of Options High to provide for his young daughter full-time.
Recently, however, he began working toward his GED at Bellingham Technical College with the hope of learning a trade.
“He had to start working a lot to care for Maehlani. He said, ‘I want to get serious and get this stuff done,’” Nyssa said.
To help pay for funeral expenses, friends are holding a fundraiser from 3-6 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 5, at Miraculous Braidz, a hair salon at 1517 Cornwall Ave. between York and Champion streets.
“All donations go to the family,” according to the Miraculous Braidz page on Facebook.
“Miraculous Eventz is hosting a paint event for $40 per person where you can come and paint anything you’d like in memory of Xyrone, and take the canvas home as a keepsake. We also will be selling key chains for $10 each that will be with you wherever you go,” the Facebook post said.
Meanwhile, 22-year-old Brian Andy Pantoja of Bellingham remained in Whatcom County Jail on Thursday, Nov. 3, where he was held on a charge of first-degree murder and unlawful possession of a firearm with bail set at $5 million.
Because the investigation is continuing, no more details were being released, Police Lt. Claudia Murphy told The Herald in an email.
According to the probable cause affidavit filed in Whatcom County Superior Court, Pantoja and some friends fought with Xyrone at the crowded party, punching him without provocation.
That fight was broken up, but Pantoja and a friend sought out Xyrone about 10 minutes later and allegedly shot him with a pistol on the front porch of 514 E. Myrtle St.
Pantoja fled, but was caught several hours later, according to the court documents.
This story was originally published November 3, 2022 at 11:54 AM.
