Man’s last moments recalled

Published 5:00 am Saturday, April 16, 2011

The man who stabbed himself to death during an open-mic night at a Bend coffee shop Thursday had only lived in Bend a short time, having moved from Alaska with childhood friends last summer.

Kipp Rusty Walker, 19, was singing and playing an electric keyboard at Strictly Organic Coffee Co. when he took out a knife and began stabbing himself in the chest a little after 6:30 p.m.

Bystanders attempted first aid while medics from the Bend Fire Department responded. Walker was taken to St. Charles Bend, where he died of his injuries.

A.J. Pryzbyla, a friend of Walker’s from Anchorage and his roommate until a recent eviction, said he was about 10 feet from Walker when Walker stabbed himself.

Walker had started teaching himself to play the piano about a week earlier, he said, and was playing a song he’d recently picked up.

“It seemed like he was hesitant to finish, like he was rethinking what he was doing or something,” he said. “He finally finished, after five or 10 minutes, and stood up and turned to the crowd and went all-out.”

Sgt. Chris Carney of the Bend Police Department said 10 to 15 customers witnessed the incident.

“This is just one of those things that isn’t normal,” he said. “We don’t see this kind of activity — and we see a lot of activity, obviously. This is not the norm.”

Terrence Mitchell, a classmate of Walker’s at Bartlett High School in Anchorage, said he only saw him a few times after they left high school.

“I knew of him in high school, really quiet, shy guy that kept to himself but loved to skateboard,” Mitchell said.

“He always was independent and had really good friends and was a cool guy.”

Pryzbyla said Walker was known for keeping to himself but would open up to certain people.

“He wasn’t as social as most others, but if you knew him well and how to communicate with him, talk about interesting things, you could communicate with him,” he said. “He didn’t like the day-to-day talk.”

Pryzbyla said it wasn’t always easy to read Walker’s mood, but he suspects he was “done with life, sick of this world or something.”

Rhonda Ealy, owner of Strictly Organic, said Walker was not familiar to her staff, or to the many regulars who attend the open-mic night every Thursday. Two of the shop’s employees who witnessed the incident took the day off Friday, Ealy said, while two others returned to work.

Nessa Parker said she went to high school with Walker and remembered “Kippy” as “one of the most amazing and nicest people I’ve ever met.”

“He was the best skater in Anchorage, and anyone up here would agree,” Parker said. “I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone who had anything negative to say about him. He was loved and will definitely be missed.”