What happened to Ryan Waller? Age, death, girlfriend, nationality, personal life

What happened to Ryan Waller? Age, death, girlfriend, nationality, personal life

The story of Ryan Waller has gathered global attention as it perfectly depicts how the current justice system can drastically fail the public. In this case, the police antagonised the victim through having 'tunnel vision' and jeopardised justice being executed before all the evidence was analysed. So who was Ryan, and what happened to him? Here we discuss the details of the tragic story and how it brought more awareness to a flawed justice system.

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Ryan Waller 2021
The victim was shot in the face, yet the police did not believe his version of events. Source: 10 Minute Murder on Facebook (modified by author)
Source: UGC

Before we get into the details of the case, let us outline a basic synopsis of what happened. When Ryan Waller's girlfriend was found dead in his apartment and he was found with a head wound but yet was still miraculously alive, he was put in the back of a police car and taken into a police station for questioning. What followed was a gruelling investigation without much concern for the victim's health or potential innocence, which led to dire consequences.

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Ryan Waller's death years later sparked public outrage at the way the police initially handled the case, with them interrogating the injured man for hours before allowing him to seek medical assistance finally. Unfortunately, too much damage had been done, impacting him for years. Before we get into the case details, let us discuss his facts first that we could source from Ryan Waller’s Wikipedia and other online sources.

Ryan Waller now
Ryan was interrogated for hours despite a terrible head wound that desperately needed medical attention. Photo: Bernd Wüstneck.
Source: Getty Images

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Ryan Waller's age

At the time of the tragic incident in 2006, he was just 21 years old. He was born in Knoxville, Tennessee and Ryan Waller was an American national.

Ryan Waller's personal life

Ryan Waller and Heather Quan were in a considerably long-term relationship, but we do not have many details about them as both a couple and individuals. But two years into the relationship, we can only assume the couple was going strong until Heather's brutal slaying.

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Ryan Waller's arrest

On 23 December 2006, the couple was altered by a knock at the door. The gunman came in and, after a scuffle with Ryan, shot him in the face, assuming he would die shortly after. He then fired rounds at Heather, killing her instantly.

Nobody knew of the incident until the duo failed to show up for an arranged Christmas party, prompting a family member's worried call to the police. The police showed up at the scene and noticed Ryan still alive but clinging to life. But instead of getting him help, they took him to the police station under suspicion of murder.

Ryan Waller's face
Ryan Waller was interrogated for hours with a bullet in his head. Sadly, he passed away shortly after. Photo: 10 Minute Murder (Modified by author)
Source: Facebook

The police's theory was that if he was genuinely shot in the head as he claimed, he should not currently be alive, so they concluded his version of events to be a lie. They pushed the injured man in hopes they would get a different story, but he wanted to go home and sleep, clearly still in a daze from the traumatic invent and severe head trauma.

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Photos of Ryan Waller's face were proof of the injuries' severity. Still, the severity of the situation would only fully come to light once he was allowed medical treatment, hours after interrogation and two full days of being left in his home for dead. Ryan Waller's gunshot wound was so serious that he developed severe health complications.

His disgruntled roommate was eventually charged with the savage attack on the pair, leading to the death of Heather, but this was just the beginning of a slow yet painful demise for the falsely-accused victim.

Ryan Waller's death

For those wondering, Ryan Waller is not alive anymore due to the aftermath of the gruelling, drawn-out interrogation that led to eventual fatal consequences. However, since he was treated so late for his injuries, we can only assume it impacted how much more severe his health issues would get.

When did Ryan Waller die?

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The bullet damaged his skill and punctured his brain, leading to severe seizures and permanent blindness. His health continued to deteriorate, with a final seizure eventually taking his life. Ryan Waller's obituary showed that he had many loved ones he left behind that were incredibly fond of him. Ryan Waller died of a seizure on the 20th of January 2016.

Since the incident, many people in both America and around the world have been lobbying for justice for Ryan Waller in any way they could. Unfortunately, his tragic, short-lived life may have been filled with pain, loss and injustice. Still, the devastating scenario has since brought about more awareness of how the justice system needs to be revamped and how essential fact-based evidence is when it comes to avoiding a wrongful conviction.

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Briefly.co.za wrote about another figure gone too soon, Michelle Thomas. She was a talented actress who rose to fame through various sitcoms in the 90s and continued to work as an actress until her untimely death. So what happened to Michelle, and what else do we know about her life before her passing?

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Source: Briefly News

Authors:
Justine De Lange avatar

Justine De Lange (Lifestyle writer) Justine De Lange has over 6 years of experience in lifestyle, corporate and freelance writing. She started at Now Media for their lifestyle publication 'Let's Go', then joined 'travSIM' and 'Metavaro'. She now writes for Briefly News as a content writer, working with beats such as studies, services, business tips, and celebrity biographies (joined in 2022). In 2023, Justine finished the AFP course on Digital Investigation Techniques. You can contact her directly via JustinedeLange14@gmail.com.