00:00:04
[ Siren wailing ] -I was at the New Haven
Police Department when I heard our dispatch taking
a call from a frantic caller.
00:00:23
I immediately got in my car,
alerted Officer Shanebrook. We activated
our lights and sirens
00:00:29
and proceeded to the scene. -It was a little
after 4:00 in the morning. -As we approached the house...
00:00:43
...I see who I later found
to be Alison Davis out in the front yard,
waving me down.
00:00:52
I asked where the victim was. She directed me in
through the kitchen. By the front door, I could see
a male laying facedown
00:01:01
with a large pool of blood
around his head. -Did Alison attempt
to talk to Kevin?
00:01:11
-No, sir. Not that I ever saw. [ Helicopter blades whirring ] After I got the prognosis
from the paramedics...
00:01:43
...I went up and let her know
that he is extremely critical. -[ Laughs ] I inform her that at this point,
00:01:54
she cannot go back
into the house. The crime-scene part
really surprised her. I had Detective Krueger
paged out.
00:02:15
-I get the call.
It's about 5:00 in the morning. So I get dressed,
show up on scene.
00:02:20
Alison's standing outside,
relatively very calm. She says they're out drinking
at East Haven Tavern.
00:02:36
[ Suspenseful music plays ] And she said
that she had slept on the couch. She said
he had fallen down the stairs
00:02:49
and there was blood everywhere. I asked her
if I could search the home. She said
that she wanted to cooperate,
00:02:56
signed my consent
to search paper. And I go into the home,
I verify. There's a blanket
and a pillow on the couch.
00:03:05
The TV's on. Someone was just sleeping there.
Checks out. She said that they had a couple
of beers when they got home.
00:03:11
There's beer cans lined up. Everything seemed to be normal. -My alarm had just gone off
for work,
00:03:19
and I get a phone call
from Alison. My name is Kasey Klemm, and Alison Davis
is my best friend.
00:03:26
There was an accident,
and Kevin had fallen, and he was on his way
to the hospital.
00:03:31
I said, "say no more.
I'm on my way." She, like,
just fell apart in my arms and just started
hysterically crying.
00:03:40
They had pronounced him
brain-dead. When I was sitting
next to Alison at the hospital,
00:03:45
Detective Krueger called. -And I said
the scene is released. You can return home,
00:03:50
get clothes,
whatever you need to do. -And he suggested that we have
someone come clean this up
00:03:54
and that
there was a lot of blood. -In hindsight, I would have held the scene
for longer.
00:04:00
After the autopsy -- that's when it started
to change. This is no accident. -She didn't do this.
She never would have done this.
00:04:09
-It's a homicide. -Did Alison Davis
murder her husband, Kevin? ♪♪ [ Dramatic music plays ]
00:04:19
♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ [ Suspenseful music plays ] -August 12, 2023. New Haven, Indiana. Shortly before morning broke
00:05:09
in the home he rented
with his wife, Alison, at the base of a steep stairway, Kevin Davis' blood
seeped onto the floor.
00:05:23
♪♪ -The amount of blood was --
It was alarming. It was -- It was everywhere. -Alison had already given
Detective James Krueger
00:05:33
permission to search the house. -But she warned them
about the bedroom where their pit bull, Willow,
00:05:43
would sometimes growl
at strangers who approach. Kevin had been rushed to Parkview
Regional Medical Center.
00:06:02
After speaking
with first responders and breaking the tragic news
to her loved ones,
00:06:08
Alison also headed to Parkview. So you go to the hospital?
-Yes. -Steve Krause
watched his daughter
00:06:15
try to will Kevin
back to consciousness. -Their favorite phrase
for one another was babe.
00:06:21
And Alison's up there, "Hey, babe,
you're gonna be okay. Hey, babe, you know,
I'm here with you.
00:06:27
Hey, babe, I love you." ♪♪ -She had, like, blood on her fingernail cuticles
and on her phone.
00:06:37
I could tell
she had been crying, but she kind of just looked,
like, in shock. -Her best friend, Kasey Klemm.
00:06:44
-They had her in, like, a little, small waiting room
with a chaplain, and I was trying
to calm her down,
00:06:50
to ask questions, you know,
like what was going on. -Back at the house, Detective Krueger
lifted restrictions
00:06:58
and cleared the bloody scene. It was horrific. But at this point,
he believed it was an accident.
00:07:05
-Maybe he took a head plant
down the stairs. I don't know. I wasn't there. -The detective said,
"I think we're done here."
00:07:13
-Alison stayed at the hospital. But back home, all that blood
needed to be cleaned up.
00:07:19
-You don't think about that,
right, like, who cleans it up? -I said,
"Well, I will go do it."
00:07:25
-You had permission to do this?
-Correct. -Permission from
the lead detective in this case?
00:07:30
-Correct. -How upsetting was this process
of cleaning? -Well, it's very upsetting.
00:07:35
Sometimes I'd become overwhelmed and need to gather myself to finish what I'd come to do.
00:07:46
-Including tending to Willow, who had been left upstairs
in their bedroom with the door closed.
00:07:53
-Alison was concerned that
the dog hadn't been left out. They had no children,
so the dog was like a child.
00:08:01
-Throughout
that frantic morning, Alison and her family
quietly prayed. -I'm praying, "Kevin,
just, you know, wake up.
00:08:07
You know, wake up. You look like you're sleeping.
Just wake up." -Kevin and Alison were part
of a tight group of friends
00:08:16
who were regulars
at the East Haven Tavern, where Jodi Espy
and Jessica Eakright
00:08:22
take care of the crowd. -Our customers become
our family around here. -The news that Kevin was
in critical condition hit hard.
00:08:31
-Everybody was just talking
like, "Oh, my gosh. He was just here.
That's so sad."
00:08:36
-Kevin and Alison had been at
the tavern just hours earlier. -It was hard
not to be a friend of Alison's,
00:08:43
because she just made everybody
feel like you mattered. -Kevin, a skilled landscaper,
00:08:49
had a big personality
that matched his big heart. -Kevin Davis
was just a nice guy.
00:08:56
Always hardworking, ready
to help anybody out at any time. -Close friends
Todd Spessert and Jason Young
00:09:04
scrambled to see Kevin. -We all met at the hospital.
-Yeah. We talked to Alison
and her parents.
00:09:10
She had been crying,
but she was holding back. -She was a mess. -She was devastated?
-Yes.
00:09:15
-The scene was overwhelming. -Yeah. He's brain-dead.
There's nothing left in there.
00:09:21
-God.
Just a few hours earlier... he was sitting
right over here, right?
-Correct.
00:09:26
-Do you say anything to Kevin? -Oh, yeah. I told him -- I was like,
"I feel really bad about this,
00:09:33
and it shouldn't have happened, and wish you were still here." -And did you have a chance
to say goodbye to your friend?
00:09:41
-Yeah. I said goodbye there.
Yep. -Yeah.
Then they were talking about, you know,
donating his organs and stuff.
00:09:49
I was like, "Wow." -He was an organ donor, correct?
-Yes, yes. She was very proud of him
for that, too.
00:09:57
-His life support
would be disconnected. Soon, 40-year-old Kevin Davis
was gone.
00:10:04
At 33, Alison was a widow. -They were just happy type
of couple that would dance in the kitchen
to music together,
00:10:14
just the two of them. Like, that's just who they were. They were great together.
00:10:19
-It shook their friend
Deontae Bristol. -I was just holding back tears, because we were just
hanging out.
00:10:27
Like, I was just hanging out
with this guy. -It's devastating, not just
because he's no longer here,
00:10:33
but the circumstances
surrounding it are traumatic. -It had to be an accident. -Nobody ever thought
it was anything but a fall.
00:10:39
-And that's what
Detective Krueger concluded too. -I just didn't see
any need in a small department
00:10:46
to tie up all our resources in holding the house
for an accident scene. -But the scene
did raise questions.
00:10:53
Despite a huge amount of blood, first responders didn't see
any lacerations on Kevin's head.
00:11:00
-I was just told
that he was bleeding out of his nose and mouth. There was no obvious wound
on the side of his head.
00:11:06
-That same day, a doctor here
at Parkview treating Kevin felt compelled to speak up.
00:11:13
-One of the doctors
or the E.R. staff had some concerns
with his injuries. -The C.T. scans
showed internal wounds,
00:11:20
multiple skull fractures. She also noted bruising to his
face and scalp and concluded...
00:11:32
-That definitely raised
some red flags in my mind. -She alerted the coroner's
office, who ordered an autopsy.
00:11:39
When did this accident
scene become a crime scene? -After the autopsy. Once they told me
that he had a crushed-in skull,
00:11:47
definitely is not consistent
with a fall from the stairs, that's when I started digging
a lot deeper into this case.
00:12:05
[ Suspenseful music plays ] ♪♪ -Three days
after Kevin's death, the autopsy was completed
00:12:15
and the provocative findings
turned over to police. -I get the autopsy report saying that his skull
was crushed in.
00:12:24
Definitely is not consistent
with a fall from the stairs. -But Krueger says
it is consistent
00:12:30
with a violent physical beating. And you now are going, "We may have a homicide
on our hands," right?
00:12:35
-Right. -You have a suspect
in this case? -Yeah. Alison's definitely
our suspect.
00:12:42
You have two people in a house. One is murdered. -It seemed a routine step to launch the murder
investigation of Alison Davis.
00:12:52
But the New Haven
Police Department had a huge challenge, created by its own decision.
00:12:58
By releasing the scene,
that meant family members could re-enter the house.
-That meant anybody. Yeah.
00:13:02
The house is back to her. -But when people
other than law enforcement enter a house
once it's been released,
00:13:09
there's a problem, right?
-There is. -There can be contamination
of a crime scene.
00:13:14
-Yeah. -The day after
police received the autopsy, four days after Kevin's death,
00:13:20
Detective Krueger
got a search warrant. That same day and the next, he returned to the house,
a body cam rolling.
00:13:34
Police had been looking
for more evidence, including a possible murder
weapon or traces of blood.
00:13:41
But by then, Alison's dad
had already straightened up as best he could. -I basically
cleaned up the area
00:13:49
that I could visually see blood, and it was around
where Kevin was on the floor.
00:13:55
It's right there,
at the bottom of the steps. -Alison shared with Kasey a growing unease
she couldn't shake.
00:14:05
-She was really upset
that they took their phones. 'Cause that was
a lot of their memories --
00:14:11
pictures to look back on. [ Suspenseful music plays ] ♪♪ -Alison would say she initially spoke willingly
to investigators...
00:14:24
...doing all police
asked of her. She would talk to whomever
wanted to speak with her.
00:14:29
Is that right?
-Yeah. She had nothing to hide. Why would she? -There's nothing that suggests
00:14:34
there was anything other
than a fall down the stairs. -And for you,
this was a tragic accident.
00:14:40
-Of course. It was. -And as the spotlight turned
to Alison Davis, here at the East Haven Tavern,
00:14:49
there were plenty
who voiced their support. -There's no way.
-There's no way what?
00:14:53
-That she could have done that, she could have killed him. There's no way. -I could not imagine
in any world
00:15:00
where she would be wanted
for murder. -The tavern crowd
tells the story of that night.
00:15:06
Alison was working retail
at Victoria's Secret. When she finished,
she headed over.
00:15:12
As usual,
Kevin was waiting for her. On that night,
where was he sitting? -He was sitting over here
at the bar.
00:15:21
-And his mood that night was?
-Was good. He was happy. He was friendly. -I was here with him.
-You were here?
00:15:29
It was around 9:00 p.m.
when Alison walked in. -Typical night. -There was nothing
out of the ordinary
00:15:37
in the slightest. -Kevin had a second,
then a third beer and some vodka shots. Alison sipped on her usual --
a sweet cocktail.
00:15:47
-It didn't seem like she
was drinking excessively at all. -The East Haven regulars
carried on.
00:15:53
Kevin could get a little loud,
his friends say, but they knew
that was just Kevin being Kevin.
00:15:59
-I mean, he was just a lot. -What does "a lot" mean? -He was very opinionated. -But she loved him through it.
00:16:08
-Soon, it was after midnight. Time to turn in. -They were calling it a night,
winding down.
00:16:14
-Alison left the tavern first, with Kevin following
shortly after. -I think it was about 1:00.
00:16:21
-Kevin and his buddy Jason
started texting. -Now, those texts,
do you still have them?
00:16:26
-Mm-hmm.
-Can you show them to me? -Yeah. You can just start here. You can just start
scrolling through.
00:16:32
-So this starts at 1:11 a.m. Jason asked... Kevin responding... A moment later,
Kevin confides...
00:16:48
-Just being funny, you know? All that was basically going on
till about 2:31. -But Kasey says Alison
told her it was late
00:16:58
and she had told Kevin
to quiet down. She was tired, and all she
wanted was to get some sleep.
00:17:04
-She said, "Kevin,
I have to get up early for work. I'm gonna go downstairs
and sleep, if you don't stop.
00:17:10
I need to sleep." -Like this one emoji here. -Kevin sent Jason
a seemingly innocent text.
00:17:16
-And he says... -After the autopsy results
came back and Detective Krueger got Alison
and Kevin's phones,
00:17:28
he studied that text
and the ones before it, He thought they didn't seem
innocent at all.
00:17:35
-He was obviously annoyed
at her about something. -Remember,
Alison had told first responders
00:17:41
that they'd had a fight. -Who knows what was said. It obviously aggravated her. This is a wife that lost it
and beat her husband to death.
00:17:53
-There's nothing to suggest
that Alison did anything. This is just strictly
an accident.
00:18:11
[ Siren wailing ] -With evidence showing that Kevin Davis' skull
had multiple fractures...
00:18:18
everything was being re-examined to determine if those injuries
were accidental or intentional.
00:18:31
-Detective Krueger's team
analyzed that 911 call... ...and concluded
Alison was acting.
00:18:40
-This is rehearsed,
because she wanted to listen to what the 901 dispatcher
had to say,
00:18:45
and then she went
into her whole rehearsal. She never asked them
to hurry up. Almost every 911 call
you listen to,
00:19:01
"Hey, hurry up! I need you now!" You know,
this call is about her. It's not about Kevin.
00:19:08
-And even
as their body cams rolled, Hetrick and Shanebrook questioned if Alison
was genuinely concerned
00:19:15
as Kevin lay dying. [ Suspenseful music plays ] Typically,
based on your experience,
00:19:21
how is a spouse reacting
in a situation like this? -Usually just absolute panic.
00:19:28
-And when EMTs lifted Kevin,
brain-dead, into an emergency vehicle... Did she attempt
to get into the ambulance?
00:19:35
-Not once.
-Not once? -Was she crying? -I don't ever recall
witnessing her cry. -But they say
they did hear her laughing.
00:19:47
-We both noticed it. -When she was also talking
to the paramedics, my body camera captured her kind
of laughing with the paramedics.
00:19:54
-[ Laughs ] -Also strange to police was what they observed
at the bottom of the stairs.
00:20:12
-This just doesn't look like
a fall to me.
-No. If he fell down the stairs, why wasn't he more either
wedged up against the doorway,
00:20:20
not laying perfectly flat
in a horizontal position? -It's almost like he was laid
down at that base of the stairs.
00:20:27
It didn't make sense. -Police would come to think
they knew why. -It didn't add up
to a tumble down the stairs.
00:20:35
-What did it add up to you? -Blunt force trauma. -A beating, police say -- several severe blows
to the head,
00:20:44
until Kevin's skull caved in. -Police uncovered
something else. Alison told different stories
00:20:58
as to where she and Kevin
were sleeping. Remember, first responders
heard this story.
00:21:11
-But that's not
what investigators say Alison told Kevin's mother,
Alta Beers. -Alta tells me
that Alison told her
00:21:20
that they were in bed together. I said,
"Okay. That's interesting." -But she had told you
she was on a couch
00:21:26
-Yeah. Completely different. -Krueger says Alison
didn't share with Kevin's family
00:21:31
just how critically he was hurt. -She's minimizing
this entire situation, especially to Kevin's family.
00:21:37
-Why do you suppose
Alison minimized his injuries? -Because she caused
the injuries.
00:21:42
That's why she minimized them. She's caught lying. -The detective's theories -- the 911 call --
00:21:51
faked. Alison's behavior -- unnatural. Kevin's body -- it had been moved. -It looks to me
like he's been positioned
00:22:02
in a way
that does not consistent with falling down the stairs. -Prosecutor Tesa Helge
00:22:08
teamed with Krueger
and the doctors who had treated
and examined Kevin. So your experts
are looking at a man
00:22:14
that they believe
basically was beaten to death. -That's exactly
what they believe.
00:22:19
-Beaten by someone?
-Right. -And that's someone,
you believe, was? -Alison Davis.
00:22:24
-But the prosecutor
sensed the investigation faced some serious challenges. Where's the murder weapon?
00:22:33
-That's a great question. -And what triggered this? -Between them? I don't know. I wish I knew.
00:22:39
-But Helge and Krueger
became convinced they had learned
something important about Alison and Kevin's
marriage
00:22:47
that could suggest a motive. -I spoke with Kevin's mother,
Alta, and she informed me that they
were having some marital issues.
00:22:57
-You know, a domestic
relationship that has gone bad. It is on the rocks. -And remember these texts
from the final hours of his life
00:23:06
between Kevin
and his friend Jason Young? -He said... -"Got to go. The wife."
-"The wife."
00:23:17
-Investigators suggested that message reflected
tensions in the marriage. Jason believes
that's ridiculous.
00:23:25
-Did he ever say to you,
"My marriage is in trouble?" -No. -She would have told me
if there was something going on,
00:23:31
and never was that hinted. -Alison's supporters say she was just being honest
with investigators
00:23:38
when she mentioned
the argument. But with detectives
bearing down on her, Alison had stopped talking
to them
00:23:45
about her marriage
or anything else. -She went completely silent
after that, and --
00:23:51
-The cooperation stopped? -Over with. Yep, yep. -On October 17, 2023, after two months
of investigation,
00:24:00
police declared
Kevin's death a homicide. And two months after that, a warrant was issued
for Alison's arrest...
00:24:11
for the murder of her husband. -I mean, this is unbelievable. So we get a recommendation
00:24:17
for a criminal-defense team
in Indianapolis, Andrew Baldwin and Max Wiley. -I spent quite a bit of time
with her,
00:24:26
and she's a wonderful person. -Three days before Christmas, Alison Davis walked into
the Allen County jail
00:24:33
with her parents. -She said, "I'm Alison Davis,
and I'm here to turn myself in."
00:24:38
-Did they handcuff her
right in front of you? -Yes. -Do you believe Alison Davis
00:24:44
had anything to do with
her husband's death? -No. -Wiley and Baldwin
thought they knew exactly
00:24:52
why cops hadn't found
a murder weapon. Because there was no murder. What was the instrument that you
believe caused Kevin's death?
00:25:05
-The banister
at the bottom of the stairs. [ Soft music plays ] ♪♪ -Indiana rarely allows bail
on a murder charge.
00:25:28
Alison Davis was locked up
in the Allen County jail. She pleaded not guilty. -We know Alison,
00:25:36
and we know she isn't capable
of what they accused her of. -Does she have a temper?
00:25:42
-No. She's never has a temper. -She had a criminal record? -No, she does not have
a criminal record.
00:25:49
-Her father, Steve, hoped he'd given Alison tools
to survive behind bars and face the anxious wait
until her trial.
00:25:58
-Our family is faith-based, and Alison leaned on that faith. -It was so hard. -Kasey Klemm
searched desperately
00:26:10
for a way to help her friend. -It's like there's nothing
I can do for her except pretend to be strong
and remind her that I'm here.
00:26:22
-While loved ones
missed Alison, she told them
that she missed Kevin. -You know, she would say,
"I haven't been sleeping,
00:26:30
because I just keep seeing it
in my head, and I just miss him,
and I want him." And, you know,
she would talk about
00:26:36
how all she wants,
more than anything in the world, is to just hear him call
her babe again and hold her.
00:26:43
-Friends and family
were denied any direct contact. -No visitation. -Were you able to see her
on a video,
00:26:51
FaceTime kind of situation? -No, we were not. -Only her attorneys,
Max Wiley and Andrew Baldwin,
00:26:58
could see Alison. Through Plexiglas,
they got to know their client and developed a sense
of her relationship with Kevin.
00:27:07
Do you buy into this notion that it was a troubled marriage
headed toward a cliff?
00:27:11
-Not at all. No one's
coming to the detectives, you know,
right after this happened
00:27:16
and saying, "There were
problems in their marriage. You need to investigate this."
Nobody.
00:27:19
-But remember,
four weeks after Kevin died, Detective Krueger spoke
with Kevin's mother, Alta.
00:27:26
He says she told him Kevin and Alison
were having marital problems. -It was looking like it was
leading towards a separation.
00:27:34
-I think it's fair to say that he was concerned
about the marriage and that he had shared
those concerns with his family.
00:27:41
-As Helge prepared, she believed she had
a compelling story to share with a jury.
00:27:48
And it wasn't
about love and marriage. -This case is going to boil
down to a lot of science.
00:27:56
-I'm Dr. Bill Smock.
I am a consultant to the Allen County
District Attorney's office
00:28:00
in the death of Mr. Davis. -When I brought Dr. Smock in and I provided him
all our materials,
00:28:06
I did not tell him
what anyone else thought. -The defense retained
a medical expert of its own,
00:28:12
Dr. L.J. Dragovic, a forensic pathologist
and neuropathologist. -He studies brains.
He studies brain injuries.
00:28:21
He's passionate about it. -The two experts would come to
radically different conclusions.
00:28:28
-Mr. Davis
was beaten to death. -Kevin Davis died as a result
of falling and striking his head
00:28:36
on a bottom post
of the stairway banister. -They worked
to make sense of a tragedy
00:28:43
that started with a phone call. -I have not heard the call. -Would you like to hear it?
-Sure.
00:28:54
-Are you ready?
-I'm ready. [ Voice breaking ]
Listen to her. And I can't believe
they did this to her.
00:29:08
It's unbelievable. [ Sobs ] Such injustice. [ Soft music plays ] ♪♪ -At the East Haven Tavern,
the regulars were torn.
00:29:22
-A lot of people
think she's guilty. A lot of people
think she's innocent. -There's just
not a bone in my body
00:29:29
that thinks
she could have done this. -I believe
that she's not guilty. -What do you believe
happened that night?
00:29:38
-I have no idea. -In your mind,
is Alison Davis a killer? -I don't know. ♪♪ -May 5, 2025.
00:29:50
Alison has been locked up
for 17 months. -The trial starts tomorrow. -Morning, May 6.
00:30:01
Former Detective James Krueger, now Police Chief Krueger
after a promotion, heads to court.
00:30:09
-I'm anxious. What's at stake today is either Kevin Davis
gets justice for what was done to him
00:30:16
or we let a murderer walk free. -And I just, you know,
kept thinking, what evidence do they have to
say that Alison murdered him?
00:30:23
And there just wasn't anything. -Krueger admits
the investigation was flawed, but he isn't making any excuses.
00:30:33
-I was responsible
for gathering the evidence, making sure
everything was completed.
00:30:38
Something got messed up
or I missed something, then that falls
on my responsibility.
00:30:43
That's my baby. -He knows there are challenges, starting with a most basic
issue.
00:30:49
-He was a big guy. You know, the jurors
may have a hard time believing that she was even capable
of causing this injury to him.
00:30:57
-And if the chief
was a betting man... -I give this one a 50/50. I believe that there's
a very good possibility
00:31:04
that this jury will hang
and there won't be a verdict. -At the Allen County Courthouse,
00:31:10
both sides are set to go. -The prosecution
has no murder weapon. The prosecution has nowhere to
hide from this paltry evidence
00:31:19
that it's about to present
to you. -There's no doubt
that Kevin was murdered. -And like Krueger, Helge knows
this case is a tough one.
00:31:27
So many people
think Alison Davis simply could not be a killer. -That's not Alison.
That's not who she is.
00:31:35
She had no reason. Kevin was her world. -Are you convinced that Alison Davis murdered
her husband?
00:31:43
-I'm 100% convinced, yes. -Fort Wayne's
historic courthouse. -Alison Davis is on trial,
charged with murder.
00:32:02
-No cameras inside. "48 Hours"
is allowed a sketch artist. Investigators, doctors,
loved ones testify.
00:32:12
But all eyes are on Alison. And what do you see on her face? -I see love. -But it isn't love,
00:32:23
it's forensics
that define this trial -- Drs. Smock and Dragovic and their radically
opposing theories.
00:32:31
-Mr. Davis sustained blows
to the head -- not just on one side, but on the
back and the left side, as well.
00:32:40
-At trial, Smock presents
this C.T. scan highlighting Kevin's injuries -- the multiple fractures
to his head.
00:32:48
-What that says
is that Mr. Davis sustained multiple blows
to multiple areas of his head.
00:32:55
I told the jury that Mr. Davis
was the victim of a homicide. He did not fall down
those stairs.
00:33:02
-He believes Alison wielded
a weapon that was never found. -For example,
a kettlebell, a weight.
00:33:11
It certainly could be
the end of a baseball bat. -Kevin Davis was not killed as a result of impacts
by baseball bat.
00:33:20
He suffered only one --
one impact to the head as his head slammed into
that post of the banister.
00:33:30
-That one impact, Dragovic says,
led to multiple fractures. He says the same impact
then caused Kevin's brain
00:33:39
to ricochet inside his skull. The shattered bone fragments
acted like shrapnel, tearing Kevin's brain.
00:33:48
-They claim
that Kevin was beaten. They got it wrong. -I would say Dr. Dragovic
got it wrong.
00:33:55
-Dr. Smock says just look at
the police body cam video. The banister post appears clean.
00:34:03
There's no evidence
Kevin's head struck it. -There was no blood, no tissue, no hair
on the top of that banister.
00:34:12
-But remember, Dragovic argues
the post is clean because Kevin's injuries
were internal.
00:34:19
-Kevin never had any open
wound anywhere on his body. -Blood that was found by first
responders was on the floor,
00:34:29
beneath Kevin's body. It came from his nose and mouth. -According to the defense,
his skull hit this.
00:34:36
And if you want
to follow me down here, Peter... -Chief Krueger tells us what
he believes happened to Kevin.
00:34:42
-I believe that he made
some comments to Alison, who was laying down here
on the couch.
00:34:47
-And he's walking away
from her? -He's walking away from her. And Alison grabs an object.
00:34:53
He takes a blow
to the back of the head. -Legally intoxicated
and immobilized by more blows...
00:35:00
-And somewhere in this area
is where he loses it and falls. -...investigators believe
Alison dragged 219-pound Kevin
00:35:09
across a portion of this floor. -Ms. Davis sees these stairs and says,
"Well, this is my scapegoat.
00:35:16
I can make it look like
this as an accident." And he was pulled just enough to make it look like
he fell down the stairs.
00:35:22
-And Krueger says there's more
evidence of Alison's guilt -- Kevin's cold body temperature.
00:35:29
-Core body temperature
was 91 degrees. -Dr. Smock says he knows why. -Kevin Davis was lying there
for at least two hours
00:35:38
before 911 was called. -But in his testimony,
Dr. Dragovic counters Kevin's low temperature
is due to something else.
00:35:51
The impact with the post destroyed a key part
of Kevin's brain. It's called the hypothalamus.
00:35:58
-That part of the brain is the
actual thermostat for the body. -The result? -Your body temperature
is out of control.
00:36:08
It's kaput. -There are so many
inconsistencies with that theory. -So, I came up the stairs.
00:36:14
-Krueger took us upstairs
to that bedroom Willow the pitbull shared
with Kevin and Alison.
00:36:24
-Alison had warned Krueger
Willow might attack. -Did you ever get into
this room?
00:36:32
-I never did,
not on that morning. I 100% wish I would have gotten
into this room
00:36:38
on the morning of the 12th.
-Because? -The murder weapon
could have been in there.
00:36:42
-Chief Krueger has been
at the house several times. This is the first time Alison's
lawyers were able to get inside.
00:36:53
-Wow. -Oh, my goodness. -That's the staircase
right there. And there's the post.
00:36:59
So you hit that, and you end up... Yeah. Your feet over here. -Let's see how steep
these stairs are.
00:37:08
They are really steep,
aren't they? -And narrow.
-Yeah. And narrow. -It's powerful
to be in this house.
00:37:16
-And to picture what
they believe were the final, fatal steps of Kevin Davis. -It's an intoxicated guy
that fell down the stairs
00:37:27
and hit his head on that post
right there. -The trial lasts four days. Alison does not take the stand.
00:37:35
-The jury is now out. They just heard closing
arguments for about two hours. -Which story
will the jury believe?
00:37:44
[ Birds chirping ] [ Down-tempo music plays ] The courthouse is dark
except for the jury room.
00:37:52
Some 21 grueling months
have passed... ...since the heartbreaking death
of Kevin Davis.
00:38:01
If convicted of his murder, Alison Davis could spend
the rest of her life in prison.
00:38:07
At 11:00 p.m.,
word comes a verdict. ♪♪ Alison's family and attorneys
emerge. -Not guilty.
-Oh, my God, she's coming home!
00:38:20
-Alison Davis -- not guilty. Just moments before, Steve had
locked eyes with his daughter
00:38:28
as her verdict came down. -She was crying with joy. And it was a wonderful moment.
00:38:34
-That family over there -- that's why we do this work. That's exactly why
we do this work.
00:38:40
-[ Crying ] -Kevin's mother, Alta, doesn't
want her son to be forgotten. -He's my son. I've always
loved him and always will.
00:38:52
-She accepts the verdict. -I'm okay. I'm dealing with it. -She's still my daughter-in-law,
no matter what.
00:39:02
-But where is Alison? Back in jail, waiting for
her release paperwork. A cold, but joyous crowd
stands vigil.
00:39:13
Then, at 2:12 a.m., the jailhouse door cracks open. -Oh, my God! -Alison comes out, and everybody
just erupts with joy.
00:39:24
-Oh, my gosh. -It was a group hug
of the ages. -Yes. Tears, saying, "Alison,
we missed you so much.
00:39:32
It's so good to have you
in our arms again." -It's a lot of emotions, really. -There is no joy for those who
believe the jury got it wrong.
00:39:42
-I was like, "Oh! Unbelievable. Unbelievable." -You were stunned by that? -I was, yeah.
00:39:50
-"48 Hours"
spoke with this juror, who asked us not to show
her face or use her name.
00:39:57
-Well, the prosecution
didn't have a strong case. Like, there was no weapon. There was no...
00:40:05
"This is where she did it
and how she did it." The prosecution's theory
had a lot of holes.
00:40:10
-And the jury believed
the theories of Dr. Dragovic. -He explained everything in very clear terms
that we could understand.
00:40:19
And it just made sense.
It made sense to the injury. -For the family
at East Haven Tavern...
00:40:26
-Here's to Kevin! -...a bittersweet celebration. And for Kevin's family, what would you have to say
to them?
00:40:34
-I just I'm so sorry
for your loss. It's so devastating. -What do you hope for her?
00:40:40
-I hope
that she can find her place and to get back to that smiling,
happy person that she was.
00:40:47
She didn't deserve a year and a
half of her life taken away, sitting in jail. So I was I was really happy
for her.
00:40:55
♪♪