00:00:10
I was at the New Haven Police Department when I heard our dispatch shaking a call
00:00:14
from a frantic caller. 911, what's the address? Is there an emergency? My husband fell down the
00:00:20
stairs. There's blood everywhere. I can't wake him up. I immediately got in my car,
00:00:25
alerted Officer Shane Brooke. We activated our lights and sirens and proceeded to the scene.
00:00:31
It was a little after 4:00 in the morning. He's not responding. Okay, I'm going to have help on the way to you.
00:00:36
They'll be there in just a few minutes, okay? As we approached the house, Is he breathing? I see who I later found
00:00:45
to be Allison Davis out in the front yard waving me down. I'm sorry. I'm like in pajamas. I'm not appropriate. I was
00:00:50
so You're fine. I asked where the victim was. Is he there? She directed me in through the kitchen.
00:00:59
By the front door, I could see a male laying face down with a large pool of blood around his head.
00:01:04
What's his name? Kevin Davis. Did Allison attempt to talk to Kevin? No, sir, not that I ever saw.
00:01:13
Kevin, can you hear us? Kevin. Just stay here, Kevin. Ma'am, is there anybody else in the house just so we're
00:01:20
aware? Just my dog. Okay, when did you when did you find him? Like Just now. I woke up. I
00:01:26
Yeah, I was sleeping and I was sleeping on the couch. He was sleeping upstairs and all night I woke
00:01:31
up to a loud bang and I was like, "What is that?" This just doesn't look like a fall to
00:01:37
me. No. After I got the prognosis from the paramedics, Eight medics confirm C-minus. I went up and let her know that
00:01:45
he is extremely critical. Right now we're treating this as a crime scene due to his condition, okay?
00:01:52
I informed her that at this point she cannot go back into the house. Like why is it being treated as a crime scene?
00:01:58
Just due to his condition, okay? He he's critical right now. All right. So The crime scene part
00:02:05
really surprised her. She doesn't have a normal reaction for me telling her her husband's critical, right? I think she's
00:02:11
still in shock. You think so? Okay. I had Detective Krueger paged out. I get the call. It's about 5:00 in the
00:02:17
morning. So I get dressed, show up on scene. Allison standing outside, relatively
00:02:23
very calm. You said that you guys were at East Haven last night. She says they're out drinking at East Haven
00:02:29
Tavern. We got home. We had some more beers. And then we were drinking. And she said that she had slept on the
00:02:40
couch. And then I woke up to a loud noise and when I came over, I saw him face down. She said he had
00:02:48
fallen down the stairs and there was blood everywhere. I asked her if I could search the home. She said that she
00:02:54
wanted to cooperate, signed my consent to search paper, and I go into the home. I verify
00:03:02
there's a blanket and a pillow on the couch, the TV's on, someone was just sleeping there.
00:03:07
>> [music] >> Checks out. Um 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 and
00:03:19
I get a phone call from Allison. My name is Casey Clem [music] and Allison 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.
00:03:32
I said, "See him where? I'm on my way." She like just fell apart in my arms and just started [music] hysterically
00:03:38
crying. They had pronounced him brain dead. When I was sitting next to Allison at
00:03:45
the hospital, Detective Krueger called. >> He says that the scene is released. You
00:03:49
can return home, get clothes, whatever you need to do. And he suggested that we have someone come clean this up [music]
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 autopsy, that's when it started to change. This is no accident. She didn't do this.
00:04:07
She never would have done this. It's a homicide. Did Allison Davis murder her husband,
00:04:14
Kevin? >> [music] [music] [music] >> August 12th, 2023, New Haven, Indiana. Shortly before morning broke in the home
00:05:10
he rented with his wife, Allison, at the base of a steep stairway, Kevin Davis's blood seeped onto the
00:05:18
floor. Where's that blood coming from? Face, I think it's his nose. The amount of blood was it was alarming.
00:05:28
It was it was everywhere. Allison had already given Detective James Krueger permission to search the
00:05:35
house. If you do agree to that, I need you to sign there saying that you understand that you But she warned them
00:05:40
about the bedroom where their pit bull, Willow, would sometimes growl at strangers who approached. She's up in
00:05:47
the bedroom and she's a guard dog. Okay. And I don't know if she'd do anything and I don't want anything to Right now
00:05:52
what I won't do is I won't go in that room. >> Okay. He he's critical right now. Kevin had
00:05:59
been rushed to Parkview Regional Medical Center. After speaking with first responders and
00:06:05
breaking the tragic news to her loved ones, Allison also headed to Parkview. So you go to the hospital? Yes. Steve
00:06:13
Kraus watched his daughter try to will Kevin back to consciousness. [music] Their favorite phrase for one another
00:06:20
was babe and Allison's up there, "Hey babe, you're going to be okay. Hey babe, you know, I'm here with you. Hey babe, I
00:06:27
love you." She had like blood on her fingernail cuticles and on her phone. I could tell
00:06:38
how she had been crying, but she kind of just looked like in shock. Her best friend, Casey Clem.
00:06:45
They had her in like a little small waiting room with a chaplain and I was trying to calm her down to ask
00:06:51
questions, you know, like what was going on. Back at the house, Detective Krueger
00:06:56
[music] lifted restrictions and cleared the bloody scene. It was horrific, but at this point he
00:07:03
believed it was an accident. Maybe he took a head plant down the stairs. I don't know. I wasn't there.
00:07:10
The detective said, "I think we're done here." Allison stayed at the hospital, but back home, all that blood needed to
00:07:18
be cleaned up. 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. Correct? How upsetting was
00:07:32
this process of cleaning? Well, it's very upsetting. >> [music] >> Sometimes I'd get become overwhelmed and need to
00:07:41
gather myself >> [music] >> um to finish um what I'd come to do. Including tending
00:07:48
to Willow who had been left upstairs in their bedroom with the door closed. Allison was concerned that his dog
00:07:55
hadn't been left out. They had no children, so the dog was like a child. Throughout that frantic morning, Allison
00:08:03
and her family quietly prayed. I'm praying Kevin just, you know, wake up. You know, wake up. You look like you're
00:08:09
sleeping. Just wake up. Kevin and Allison were part of a tight group of friends who were regulars at
00:08:17
the East Haven Tavern where Jody Espy and Jessica Eckwright take care of the crowd. Our customers become our family
00:08:26
around here. The news that Kevin was in critical condition hit hard. Everybody was just talking like, "Oh my gosh, that
00:08:34
he was just here. That's so sad." Kevin and Allison had been at the tavern just hours earlier.
00:08:40
>> It would hard not to be a friend of Allison's because she just made everybody feel like you mattered.
00:08:47
Kevin, a skilled landscaper, had a big personality that matched his big heart. Kevin Davis was uh
00:08:55
just nice guy, always hard working, ready to help anybody out at any time. Close friends, Todd Speiser and Jason
00:09:03
Young, scrambled [music] to see Kevin. We all met at the hospital. >> Yeah. We talked to Allison and her
00:09:09
parents. She had been crying, but she was holding back. >> She she was a mess. She was devastated.
00:09:14
>> Yes. The scene [music] was overwhelming. Yeah, he he's uh brain dead. There's
00:09:20
nothing left in there. But just a few hours earlier, he was sitting right over here, right?
00:09:25
>> Correct. Do you say anything to Kevin? Oh, yeah. I told him I was like, uh "Feel really bad about this and it
00:09:33
shouldn't have happened and wish you were still here." And And did you have a chance to say goodbye to your friend?
00:09:41
Yeah, I said goodbye there. >> [music] >> Yep. There Yeah, then they were talking about
00:09:47
you know, donating his organs and stuff. I was like I was like, "Wow." He was an organ donor. Yes. Yes. She was
00:09:54
very proud of him for that, too. His life support would be disconnected. Soon, 40-year-old Kevin Davis was gone.
00:10:05
At 33, Allison was a widow. They were just happy type of couple that would dance in the kitchen to music
00:10:13
together, just the two of them. Like, that's just who they were. They were great together.
00:10:20
It shook their friend, Deonte Bristol. I was just holding back tears because we were just hanging out. Like, I was just
00:10:27
hanging out with this guy. It's devastating. Not just because he's no longer here, but the circumstances
00:10:34
[music] surrounding it are traumatic. >> It had to be an accident. >> Nobody ever thought it was anything but
00:10:38
a fall. And that's what Detective Krueger concluded, too. I just didn't see any need,
00:10:45
>> [music] >> in a small department, to tie up all our resources and hold a house for an
00:10:50
accident scene. But the scene did raise questions. Despite a huge amount of blood, first responders didn't see any
00:10:58
lacerations on Kevin's head. I was just told that he was bleeding out of his nose and mouth. There was no obvious
00:11:05
wound on the side of his head. That same day, a doctor here at Parkview treating Kevin felt compelled to speak
00:11:12
up. One of the doctors of the ER staff had some concerns with his injuries. The CT scans showed internal wounds,
00:11:20
multiple skull fractures. She also noted bruising to his face and scalp, and concluded Kevin's injuries
00:11:28
were not consistent with a fall down a stairway. That definitely raised some red flags in
00:11:34
my mind. She alerted the coroner's office, who ordered an autopsy. When did this accident scene become a
00:11:42
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.
00:12:10
Three days after Kevin's death, the autopsy was completed and the provocative findings turned over to
00:12:18
police. I get the autopsy report saying that his skull is crushed in. Definitely is not consistent with a fall
00:12:25
from the stairs. But Krueger says it is consistent with a violent physical beating. And you now
00:12:33
are going we may have a homicide on our hands, right? >> Right. You have a suspect [music]
00:12:38
in this case. Yeah, Allison's definitely our suspect. You have two people in a house,
00:12:44
one is murdered. It seemed a routine step to launch the murder investigation of Allison Davis.
00:12:52
But the New Haven Police Department had a huge challenge created by its own decision. [music]
00:12:58
By releasing the scene, that meant family members could re-enter the house. >> Yeah, the house is back to her. But when
00:13:04
people other than law enforcement enter a house once it's been released, there's a problem, right? There is.
00:13:11
>> There can be contamination of a crime scene. Yeah. The day after police received the
00:13:17
autopsy, four days after Kevin's death, Detective Krueger got a search warrant. That same day and the next, he returned
00:13:26
to the house, a body cam rolling. I have a couple more search warrants here. Okay.
00:13:32
First one is I got to take your phone from you. Okay. Police had been looking for more evidence, including a possible
00:13:38
murder weapon >> [music] >> or traces of blood. But by then, Allison's dad had already straightened
00:13:44
up as best he could. I basically cleaned up the area [music] that I could visually
00:13:51
see blood, and it was around where Kevin was on the floor. It's right there, at the bottom of the
00:13:57
steps. So, if I can gather the phone first? >> grab that. Allison shared with Casey a
00:14:03
growing unease she couldn't shake. She was really upset that they took their phones.
00:14:08
>> Is that password protected? Cuz that was a lot of their memories, [music] pictures to look back on.
00:14:18
All right, thank you very much. >> Allison would say she initially spoke willingly to investigators.
00:14:23
>> you. Have a good day. Do we all police asked of her? She would talk to whomever
00:14:28
wanted to speak with her. Is that [music] right? >> She had nothing to hide. Why would she?
00:14:32
There's nothing that suggests there was anything other than a fall down the stairs.
00:14:37
And for you, [music] this was a tragic accident. >> it was. And as the spotlight turned to Allison
00:14:46
Davis here at the East Haven Tavern, there were plenty who voiced their support. There's no way. There's no way
00:14:53
what? >> That she could have done that. She could have killed him. There's no way. I could
00:14:57
not imagine in any world where she would be wanted for murder. The tavern crowd tells the story of that
00:15:05
night. Allison was working retail at Victoria's Secret. When she finished, she headed over.
00:15:13
As usual, Kevin was waiting for her. On that night, where was he sitting? He was sitting over here,
00:15:20
at the bar. And his mood that night was? Was good. He was happy, he was friendly.
00:15:27
I was here with him. You were here? It was around 9:00 p.m. when Allison walked in. [music] Typical night. There
00:15:34
was nothing out of the ordinary in in [music] the slightest. Kevin had a second, then a third beer and some vodka
00:15:42
shots. Allison sipped on her usual, a sweet cocktail. It didn't seem like she was
00:15:48
drinking excessively at all. The East Haven regulars carried on. Kevin could get a little loud, his
00:15:55
friends say, but they knew that was just Kevin being Kevin. I mean, he he was just a lot. What does a lot mean? He was
00:16:03
very opinionated. But she she loved him through it. Soon, it was after midnight. Time to
00:16:11
turn in. They were calling [music] it a night, winding down. Allison left the tavern
00:16:16
first, with Kevin following shortly after. I think it was about 1:00. Kevin and his buddy Jason started texting.
00:16:25
Now, those texts, you still have them? Mhm. Can you show them to me? Yeah. You can just start here and just start
00:16:31
scrolling through. So, this starts at 1:11 a.m. Jason asked, "You guys make it back?" Kevin responding, "Oh, yeah.
00:16:39
Sorry. LOL." A moment later, Kevin confides, [music] "Yeah, we are good, bro. I'm just
00:16:45
listening to music. LOL." Just being funny, you know, all that was basically going on till about 2:31.
00:16:55
But Casey says Allison told her it was late, and she had told Kevin to quiet down. She was tired, and all she wanted
00:17:03
was to get some sleep. She said, [music] "Kevin, I have to get up early for work.
00:17:08
I'm going to go downstairs and sleep if you don't stop. I need to sleep." Kevin sent Jason a seemingly innocent
00:17:15
text. And he says, "I'm putting my phone on silent. Laughing my ass off. Got to go to bed. The wife." The wife.
00:17:23
After the autopsy results came back and Detective Krueger got Allison and Kevin's phones, he studied that text and
00:17:30
the ones before it. He thought they didn't seem innocent at all. He was obviously annoyed at her
00:17:37
about something. Remember, Allison had told first responders that they'd had a fight. I woke up. I
00:17:44
beyond a doubt wasn't Who knows what was said. It obviously aggravated her. This is a wife that lost it and beat her
00:17:52
husband to death. There's nothing to suggest that Allison did anything. This is just strictly an accident.
00:18:13
With evidence showing that Kevin Davis's skull had multiple fractures, everything was being re-examined to
00:18:21
determine if those injuries were accidental or intentional. 911, what's your address for your
00:18:28
emergency? My husband just fell down the stairs. What happened? Detective Krueger's team
00:18:33
analyzed that 911 call and concluded Allison was acting. >> This is rehearsed because she wanted to
00:18:42
listen to what the 911 dispatcher had to say, and then she went to her whole rehearsal. Okay, and what happened to
00:18:48
your husband? Um he fell down the stairs just now. I was sleeping downstairs. All I heard a
00:18:55
all of a sudden I heard a loud noise. She never asked them to hurry up. Almost every 911 call
00:19:00
you listen to, "Hey, hurry up. I need you now," you know. This call is about her. It's not about Kevin.
00:19:06
Kevin, can you hear us? And even as their body cams rolled, Hetrick and Shaneybrook questioned if
00:19:13
Allison was genuinely concerned as Kevin lay dying. Typically, based on your experience, how
00:19:21
does a spouse react in in a situation like this? Usually, just absolute panic. And when EMTs lifted Kevin, brain dead,
00:19:31
into an emergency vehicle, did she attempt to get into the ambulance? Not once. Not once.
00:19:38
Was she crying? I I don't ever recall witnessing her cry. But they say [music] 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
00:19:53
laughing with the paramedics. Is there somewhere we could get clothes for you? I mean, cuz he can't. I'm sure.
00:20:01
Yeah, that's the problem right now. Like I said. I mean, it is what it is at this
00:20:05
point. Okay. Okay. Also strange to police was what they observed at the bottom of the stairs.
00:20:13
This just doesn't look like a fall to me. No. If he fell down the stairs, why wasn't
00:20:17
he more >> [music] >> either wedged up against the doorway, not laying perfectly flat, in a
00:20:22
horizontal position? It's almost like he was laid down at that base of the stairs. It didn't make sense.
00:20:29
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 [music] you? Blunt force trauma. A beating police say several severe blows to the head
00:20:44
until Kevin's skull caved in. Right now we're treating this as a crime scene due to his condition, okay?
00:20:52
All right. Police uncovered something else. Okay, I'm just Allison told different stories
00:20:59
as to where she and Kevin were sleeping. Remember, first responders heard this story.
00:21:06
And honestly, I was sleeping, and I was sleeping on the couch, and he was sleeping upstairs. And I was sleeping
00:21:11
But that's not what investigators say Allison told Kevin's mother, Alta Beers. Alta tells me that Allison told her that
00:21:20
they were in bed together. I said, "Okay, that's interesting." She had told you she was on a couch.
00:21:26
>> Yeah, completely different. Kruger says Allison 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. Why do you
00:21:38
suppose Allison minimized his injuries? Because she caused the injuries. That's why she minimized them. She's caught
00:21:44
lying. The detective's theories, the 911 call, fake. Allison's behavior, unnatural.
00:21:55
Kevin's body, it had been moved. It looks to me like he's been positioned in a way that does
00:22:03
not consistent with falling down the stairs. Prosecutor Tessa Helgy teamed with Kruger and the doctors who had
00:22:10
treated and examined [music] Kevin. So your experts are looking at a man that they believe basically was beaten
00:22:16
to death. That's exactly what they believe. Beaten by someone. Right. And that someone you believe was? Allison
00:22:24
Davis. But the prosecutor sensed the investigation faced some serious challenges.
00:22:31
Where's the murder weapon? It's a great question. And what triggered this? Between them?
00:22:38
I don't know. I wish I knew. But Helgy and Kruger became convinced they had learned something important about
00:22:45
Allison and Kevin's marriage that could suggest a motive. I spoke with Kevin's mother, Alta, and she had informed me
00:22:54
that they were having some marital issues. You know, a domestic relationship that has gone bad. It is on
00:23:01
the rocks. And remember these texts from the final hours of his life between Kevin and his
00:23:07
friend [music] Jason Young? He said, "I'm putting my phone on silent, laughing my ass off, got to go
00:23:13
to bed. The wife." Got to go, the wife. Investigators suggested that message reflected tensions in the marriage.
00:23:22
Jason believes that's ridiculous. Did he ever say to you, "My My marriage is in trouble"? No.
00:23:29
She would have told me if there was something going on, and never was that hinted.
00:23:34
Allison's supporters say she was just being honest with investigators when she mentioned the argument.
00:23:41
But with detectives bearing down on her, Allison had stopped talking to them about her marriage or anything else. She
00:23:49
went completely silent after that, and uh The cooperation stopped. >> Over with. Yep. Yep. On October 17th,
00:23:56
2023, after 2 months of investigation, police declared [music] Kevin's death a homicide. And 2 months after that, a
00:24:07
warrant was issued for Allison's arrest for the murder of her husband. I mean, this is unbelievable. So we get a
00:24:16
recommendation for criminal defense team in Indianapolis, Andrew Baldwin and Max
00:24:23
Wiley. I spent quite a bit of time with her, and she's a wonderful person. 3 days
00:24:29
before Christmas, Allison Davis walked into the Allen County Jail with her parents. She said, "I'm Allison [music]
00:24:36
Davis, and I'm here to turn myself in." Did they handcuff her right in front of you?
00:24:40
>> Yes. Do you believe Allison Davis had anything to [music] do with her husband's death?
00:24:48
No. Wiley and Baldwin thought they knew exactly why cops hadn't found a murder weapon.
00:24:55
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. Indiana rarely allows bail on a murder
00:25:27
charge. Allison Davis was locked up in the Allen County Jail. She pleaded not guilty.
00:25:35
We know Allison, [music] and we know she isn't capable of what they accused her of. Does she have a
00:25:41
temper? No, she's never had a temper. >> have a criminal record? >> No, she does not have a criminal record.
00:25:49
Her father, Steve, hoped he'd given Allison tools to survive behind bars >> [music]
00:25:54
>> and face the anxious wait until her trial. Our family is >> [music] >> faith-based, and Allison
00:26:03
leaned on that faith. It was so hard. Casey Clem searched desperately for a way to help her friend.
00:26:13
It's like there's nothing I can do for her except pretend to be strong and remind
00:26:19
her that I'm here. While loved ones missed Allison, she told them that she missed Kevin. You
00:26:28
know, she would say, "I haven't been sleeping because I just keep seeing it in my head, and I just miss [music] him,
00:26:34
and I want him." And you know, she would talk about how all she wants more than anything in the world is to just hear
00:26:39
him call her babe again and hold her. Friends and family were denied any direct contact.
00:26:48
>> No visitation. Were you able to see her on a video FaceTime kind of situation?
00:26:53
>> No, we were not. Only her attorneys, Max Wiley and Andrew Baldwin, could see Allison.
00:27:00
Through Plexiglas, they got to know their client and developed a sense of her relationship with Kevin. Do you buy
00:27:07
into this notion that it was a troubled marriage uh headed toward a cliff? Not at all. No one's coming to the
00:27:13
detectives, you know, right after this happened and saying there were problems in their marriage, you need to
00:27:18
investigate this. Nobody. But remember, 4 weeks after Kevin died, Detective Kruger spoke with Kevin's
00:27:25
mother, Alta. He says she told him Kevin and Allison were having marital problems. It was
00:27:33
looking like it was leading towards a separation. I think it's fair to say that he was concerned about the
00:27:38
marriage, and that he had shared those concerns with his family. As Helgy prepared, she believed she had
00:27:45
a compelling story to share with a jury, and it wasn't about love and marriage. This case is going to boil down to a lot
00:27:55
of science. I'm Dr. Bill Smock. I am a consultant to the Allen County District Attorney's
00:28:00
Office in the death of Mr. Davis. When I brought Dr. Smock in and I provided him all the materials, I did
00:28:06
not tell him what anyone else thought. The defense retained a medical expert of its own, Dr. L. J. Dragovich, a forensic
00:28:15
pathologist and neuropathologist. He studies brains. He studies brain injuries. He's passionate about it. The
00:28:23
two experts would come to radically different conclusions. Mr. Davis was beaten to death. Kevin
00:28:30
Davis died as a result of falling and striking his head on a bottom post of the stairway
00:28:39
banister. They worked to make sense of a tragedy that started with a phone call. 911,
00:28:47
what's the address of your emergency? I have not heard the call. Would you like to hear it? Sure.
00:28:54
You ready? I'm ready. Listen to her. And I can't believe they did this to her. It's unbelievable.
00:29:12
Such injustice. >> [snorts] >> 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
00:29:29
bone in my body that thinks she could have done this. I believe that she's not guilty.
00:29:36
What do you believe happened that night? I have no idea. In your mind, is Allison Davis a killer?
00:29:45
I don't know. May 5th, 2025. Allison has been locked up for 17 months. The trial starts tomorrow.
00:29:58
Morning, May 6th. Former Detective James Krueger, now Police Chief Krueger, after a promotion,
00:30:07
heads to court. I'm anxious. What's at stake today is either Kevin Davis gets justice for what was done to
00:30:16
him or we let a a murderer walk free. And I just, you know, kept thinking what evidence they have to say that Allison
00:30:22
murdered him. And there just wasn't anything. Krueger admits the investigation was
00:30:29
flawed, but he isn't making any excuses. I was responsible for gathering the evidence, making sure everything was
00:30:37
completed. If something got messed up or I missed something, that that falls on my responsibility.
00:30:44
That's my baby. He knows there are challenges, starting with a most basic issue.
00:30:50
>> He was a big guy. You know, the jurors may have a hard time believing that she
00:30:54
was even capable of causing this injury to him. And if the chief was a betting man, I
00:30:59
give this one a 50/50. I believe that there's a very good possibility that this jury will hang and there won't be a
00:31:05
verdict. At the Allen County Courthouse, both sides are set to go. The prosecution has no murder weapon. The
00:31:15
prosecution has nowhere to hide [music] from this paltry evidence that it's about to present to you.
00:31:21
There's no doubt that Kevin was murdered. And like Krueger, Helgi knows this case
00:31:26
is a tough one. So many people think Allison Davis simply could not be a killer. That's not
00:31:33
Allison. That's not who she is. She had no reason. >> [music] >> Kevin was her world.
00:31:39
Are you convinced that Allison [music] Davis murdered her husband? >> convinced. Yes.
00:31:55
Fort Wayne's historic courthouse. Allison Davis is on trial charged with murder. No cameras inside. 48 hours is
00:32:05
allowed a sketch artist. Investigators, doctors, loved ones testify. But all eyes are on Allison.
00:32:16
So, what do you see on her face? I see love. But it isn't love. It's forensics that
00:32:25
define this trial. Doctors Smock and Dragovich and their radically opposing theories. Mr. Davis sustained blows to
00:32:34
the head, not just on one side, but on the back and the left side as well. At trial, Smock presents this CT scan
00:32:44
highlighting Kevin's injuries, the multiple fractures to his head. What that says is that Mr. Davis sustained
00:32:51
multiple blows to multiple areas of his head. I told the jury that Mr. Davis was
00:32:58
the victim of a homicide. He did not fall down those stairs. [music] He believes Allison wielded a weapon
00:33:06
that was never found. For example, [music] a kettlebell, a weight. It certainly could be the end of
00:33:13
a baseball bat. Kevin Davis was not killed as a result of impacts by baseball bat. He suffered only one one
00:33:24
impact to the head as his head slammed into that that post of the banister. That one impact, Dragovich says, led to
00:33:34
multiple fractures. He says the same impact then caused Kevin's brain to ricochet inside his
00:33:42
skull. The shattered bone fragments acted like shrapnel, tearing Kevin's brain. They claim that Kevin was beaten. They
00:33:51
got it wrong. I would say Dr. Dragovich got it wrong. Dr. Smock says, "Just look at the police
00:33:58
body cam video. The banister post appears clean. There's no evidence Kevin's head struck it."
00:34:07
There was no blood, no tissue, no hair on the top of that banister. But remember, Dragovich argues the post
00:34:15
is clean because Kevin's injuries were internal. Kevin never had any open wound anywhere
00:34:24
on his body. Blood that was found by first responders was on the floor beneath Kevin's body.
00:34:31
It came from his nose and mouth. According to the defense, his skull hit this. And if you want to follow me down
00:34:38
here, Peter. Chief Krueger tells us what he believes happened to Kevin. I believe
00:34:43
that he made some comments to Allison, who was laying down here on the couch. And he's walking away from He's walking
00:34:49
away from her. And Allison grabs an object. He takes a blow to the back of the head. Legally intoxicated
00:34:57
and immobilized by more blows. And somewhere in this area >> [music] >> is where he loses it and falls.
00:35:04
Investigators believe Allison dragged 219-lb [music] Kevin across a portion of this floor.
00:35:12
Ms. Davis sees these stairs and says, "Well, this is my scapegoat. I can make it look like this is an accident." And
00:35:18
he was pulled just enough to make it look like he fell down the stairs. And Krueger says there's more evidence
00:35:25
of Allison's guilt. Kevin's cold body temperature. Core body temperature was 91°. Dr. Smock says he knows why.
00:35:35
Kevin Davis was lying there for at least two hours before 911 was called. Kevin, can you hear us?
00:35:43
But in his testimony, Dr. Dragovich counters. Kevin's low temperature is due to something else. The impact with the
00:35:52
post destroyed a key part of Kevin's brain. It's called the hypothalamus. That part of the brain is the actual
00:36:01
thermostat for the body. >> The result? Your body temperature is out of control. It's a caput. There are
00:36:10
so many inconsistencies with that theory. So, I came up the stairs. Krueger took
00:36:15
us upstairs to that bedroom Willow the pitbull shared with Kevin and Allison. She's up in the bedroom and she's a
00:36:23
guard dog. >> Allison had warned Krueger Willow might attack. Right now, what I won't do is I
00:36:29
won't go in that room. >> Okay. Did you ever get into this room? I never did. Not on that morning. I 100%
00:36:36
wish I would have gotten into this room on the morning of the 12th. >> Because the murder weapon could have
00:36:41
been in there. Chief Krueger has been at the house several times. This is the first time Allison's lawyers were able
00:36:50
to get inside. Wow. Oh my goodness. That's the staircase right there. And there's the post. So,
00:37:01
you hit that and you you end up, you know, your feet over here. Let's see how steep these stairs
00:37:08
are. They are really steep, aren't they? And narrow. Yeah, and narrow. It's powerful
00:37:15
to be in this house. And to picture what they believe were the final fatal steps of Kevin Davis.
00:37:24
It's an intoxicated guy that fell down the stairs and hit his head on that post right there.
00:37:30
The trial lasts four days. Allison does not take the stand. The jury is now out. They just heard
00:37:38
closing arguments for about two hours. Which story will the jury believe? The courthouse is dark except for the
00:37:51
jury room. Some 21 [music] grueling months have passed since the heartbreaking death of Kevin
00:37:59
Davis. >> Kevin, can you hear us? If convicted of his murder, [music] Allison Davis could
00:38:04
spend the rest of her life in prison. At 11:00 p.m., word comes a verdict. Allison's family and attorneys emerge.
00:38:17
Not guilty. OH MY GOSH, SHE'S GOING HOME! Allison Davis, not guilty. Just moments before, Steve had locked
00:38:26
eyes with his daughter as her verdict came down. She was crying with joy and it was a wonderful moment.
00:38:35
>> That family over there, that's why we do this work. That's exactly why we do this work.
00:38:43
Kevin's mother, Alta, doesn't want her son to be forgotten. He's my son. I've always loved him and
00:38:51
always will. She accepts the verdict. Um okay. I'm done with it. She stole my daughter-in-law, no matter
00:39:01
what. But where is Allison? 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. Allison comes out and everybody just
00:39:22
erupts with joy. Oh my gosh. It was a group hug of the ages. >> Yes. Tears, saying, "Allison, we missed
00:39:31
you so much. It's so good to have you in our arms again." Well, that's a lot of emotions, really. There is no joy for
00:39:40
For who believe the jury got it wrong. I was like, "Ugh." Unbelievable. Unbelievable.
00:39:47
You were stunned by that? I was. Yeah. 48 Hours spoke with this juror who asked us not to show her face
00:39:56
>> [music] >> or use her name. Well, the prosecution didn't have a strong case. Like, there was no weapon. There
00:40:03
was no This is where she did it and how she did it. The the prosecution's theory had a lot
00:40:09
of holes. >> [music] >> And the jury believed the theories of Dr. Dragovich. He explained everything
00:40:16
in very clear terms that we could understand. And it just made sense. It made sense to
00:40:22
the injury. For the family at East Haven Tavern, Here's Kevin. a bittersweet celebration.
00:40:31
And for Kevin's family, >> [music] >> what would you have to say to them? I'll just I'm so sorry for your loss. It's so
00:40:36
devastating. What do you hope [music] for for I hope that she can find her place and to get back to that smiling,
00:40:45
happy person that she was. She didn't deserve a year and a half her life taken away.
00:40:52
Sitting in jail. So, I was I was really happy for her. >> [music] >> Welcome to Post Mortem. I'm your host
00:41:40
Anne Marie Green, and today we are discussing the case of Kevin Davis. >> [music]
00:41:45
>> Now, in the early morning hours of August 12th, 2023, Kevin's wife Allison called 911 and said that she woke up to
00:41:52
a loud noise, and she found Kevin at the bottom of the stairs. Kevin later died in the hospital. An autopsy later
00:42:00
revealed that he had a crushed-in skull, and a murder investigation was launched,
00:42:06
with Allison becoming the primary suspect. She was charged with murder, arrested, and put on trial, where she
00:42:13
would fight to clear her name. Joining me now is 48 Hours correspondent Peter Van Sant. Thanks for chatting with
00:42:20
me today, Peter. Hey, Anne Marie. Great to be here. Um and the usual reminder before we get
00:42:26
into it, uh if you have not listened to this episode of 48 Hours, head on over to your podcast feed to get the full
00:42:32
audio. You're going to find uh the full episode in your podcast feed right underneath this one. Go take a listen,
00:42:38
and then come on back. All right. Here we go, Peter, cuz this one's a little different.
00:42:44
>> It's a doozy. Yeah. So, of course, at the center of this entire episode, right, the big question was Kevin's
00:42:52
death an accident or was it murder? And we see sort of very early on uh people interacting with Allison are
00:43:00
interpreting her behavior differently. She's speaking to first responders, and they have very different assessments of
00:43:07
what they're seeing. And you guys actually played some body cam footage of that.
00:43:11
That's right. And these two first responders that that are of particular interest here, they are trained to
00:43:17
observe anything suspicious at a crime scene as well as trying to save a life. And so, they focus on how things are
00:43:24
said. And at the Davis house, the first two responders were standing by an ambulance, and one officer said, "She
00:43:30
doesn't have a normal reaction for me telling her her husband's critical, right?" And the EMT said, "I think she's
00:43:39
still in shock." That shows you the range of interpretations as you look at these people.
00:43:43
But having watched all of that video, there were some very odd moments. Allison apologized for wearing pajamas.
00:43:51
Now, the normal reaction would be, "Quick, he's in here. Quick, as fast as Follow me." But she apologizes about
00:43:57
what she's wearing. She laugh-talked with people at the scene. That struck some as very very
00:44:05
odd. But a lot of the people who defend Allison's behavior say she was raised to
00:44:11
be extremely polite, and this is how she speaks. She will always say thank you to
00:44:15
people and whatnot. You know, I In watching the hour, the only time that it sort of struck me as odd was that little
00:44:23
laugh-talk that we saw. But as I listened to you kind of put it all in line for me, like list it
00:44:29
all, what comes across to me is someone who's a people-pleaser, almost, that you
00:44:35
sort of mimic the reaction that you're getting from other people, and you say thank you, and you apologize for being
00:44:41
inappropriate. Like, that's how it actually comes across to me. Well, you know, the laugh-talk that she did, I
00:44:48
I've covered so many hurricanes, and you'll walk up to someone and their house has been destroyed, and Is this
00:44:54
your house? And they'll go, "Yeah. Yeah, this is it. There's not much here, is there?" They'll laugh-talk. I think
00:44:59
that's a a stress reaction in some people that it is a involuntary uh emotion, and that laugh-talk occurs.
00:45:08
That's what I was thinking about when I watched that. And also keep in mind, her
00:45:12
friends said that later she was incredibly emotional. She was crying at the hospital, and her dad said that
00:45:20
Allison, she compartmentalizes because she knew she had to be calm to help Kevin. Mhm.
00:45:28
And Allison's defense said that, "Well, if she committed a crime and had rehearsed a story, why would she have
00:45:34
forgotten to act sad on the police body cam video?" >> Mhm. Right. Um So, there were some
00:45:40
questions about the 911 call, and I want to play that. 911, what's the address for your
00:45:46
emergency? My husband just fell off the stairs. There's blood everywhere. I can't flip
00:45:52
him over. I don't know if he's alive or dead. I I Okay, I can't I can't understand what you're saying. Take a
00:45:57
breath for me. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. What's your address? He just fell down. Oh.
00:46:04
Lane. Okay, and what happened to your husband? Um he fell down the stairs just now. I was
00:46:11
sleeping downstairs. All of a sudden all of a sudden You heard a loud noise. I'm trying to
00:46:16
take longer, deeper breaths. I heard a loud noise. I went He was at the bottom of the stairs.
00:46:22
There was blood everywhere. And I can't flip him over. I can't wake him up. And I don't know if he's breathing
00:46:28
or not. Okay, he's not responding to you at all? He's not responding. And there's blood everywhere. Okay, I'm
00:46:37
going to have help on the way to you. They'll be there in just a few minutes, okay? Thank you so much. You're welcome.
00:46:43
So, what was the problem with that 911 call? Because, I mean, it seems normal to me.
00:46:50
I've heard, you know, hundreds of these 911 calls from local news all through my
00:46:54
network life. Usually, if if my wife finds me at the foot of the stairs with blood, I'm not
00:47:00
going to tell the 911 operator a story. I was I I woke up and I heard a noise, and then No, you'd say, "He's My my
00:47:06
husband's at the is unconscious. He's at the bottom of the Get someone here as fast as you
00:47:11
can." That tends to be the normal call. So, um the the the sudden calm uh Detective Krueger in this thought that
00:47:21
this was a a performance. And she also thanked the operator at the end of the 911 call,
00:47:28
which was rather unusual because it was a very friendly thank you. Mhm. I mean, often when we've done these
00:47:35
stories, Peter, one of the things that sort of stands out when people are suspicious is that
00:47:41
they give you more details than you are asking for. Absolutely. When they're calm, it can be interpreted that the
00:47:47
person telling the story has rehearsed this story. If they are overly dramatic, then it must be a performance. Uh you
00:47:55
can't win on these 911 calls. And it is also important to remember people do react differently in crises. Yeah. By
00:48:03
the way, during the course of this, there was a really uh surprisingly emotional moment for us.
00:48:09
Allison's father had not heard the 911 call, and and I I turned that on. He just his head just went right down
00:48:17
into his hands. He all but collapsed. He started crying. I would call it even sobbing. And for him, this was his
00:48:24
daughter. This was completely genuine. This was heartbreaking. This was real. He did hear the change
00:48:31
to the calmness, okay, okay, I've got my breath now, and and and her telling the
00:48:36
story. But he said, "That's my daughter. That's the way she talks." Just as an aside, I was so impressed by
00:48:42
him. Um I just I thought he was sort of the almost the MVP of that whole hour. You
00:48:48
know, often you see moms, um and so, it it was good to to see a dad defending his daughter. And I And I
00:48:55
wondered how he was remaining so unemotional. And And then we saw the emotion bubble over, you know?
00:49:01
Absolutely. Uh And uh he's someone you trust implicitly when you hear him speak. Yeah. And And
00:49:08
he didn't show a an instant of doubt about his daughter's innocence. Okay, so after first responders arrive,
00:49:16
and police decide not to enter the upstairs bedroom. And they do that because Allison says that their pet
00:49:23
pitbull is up there, and the pitbull's a guard dog. I still didn't understand I I understand
00:49:29
why maybe they wouldn't want to go up there without her, but they could have gone up there. Yeah,
00:49:35
that's an obvious mistake. And uh because there could be important evidence inside that room. She had
00:49:41
warned him that, you know, there's a pit bull on the other side. That's obviously
00:49:45
a deterrent. But Allison had signed permission for them to enter the room and she did offer
00:49:52
to move the dog. And Detective Krueger, because he initially, much too quickly, believed that Kevin's death was an
00:50:00
accident, he now believes that who knows, the murder weapon might have been in that bedroom with the dog. And of
00:50:07
course, he regrets not going in. Yeah, I can imagine. Uh Detective Krueger also cleared the crime scene. So, even if he
00:50:16
might have suspected that there was no foul play, why not at least wait till the autopsy?
00:50:21
Um especially since officers at the scene seemed to really question Allison's behavior and certainly the
00:50:27
amount of blood at the scene. This was an enormous blunder. Uh there is a reason why police have crime scene
00:50:35
tape to seal off that crime scene. There is no hurry to give it back to a family.
00:50:41
You have to do your CSI work there and take the time. Um I'm working on another case right now where it was months
00:50:49
before the death scene was cleared by police. And Detective Krueger said the New Haven, Indiana Police Department,
00:50:57
you know, they're a small town outfit. They have limited resources and expertise. And Krueger said he just
00:51:03
didn't see the need to tie up all of their resources and hold the house uh uh for what he thought was an
00:51:10
accident scene. They eventually called the Indiana State Police because they have many more
00:51:15
resources, right? But by the time they got there, the house had already been cleared. That scene has now been
00:51:21
contaminated and whatever they found would have been challenged in court. So then,
00:51:28
what evidence did investigators actually have against Allison? Well, Allison told first responders, and
00:51:35
this is important, that she and Kevin had gotten into a fight that night. That was the word that she used. And that
00:51:41
played into the investigators' belief that she hit Kevin in the back of the head with an object. Cuz they think,
00:51:48
well, if there was a fight, there was emotion, and she may have lashed out at him.
00:51:53
Uh no murder weapon was was ever found. And Detective Krueger pointed to the a text that Kevin had sent his friend
00:52:02
early in the morning, about 2:34 a.m. He wrote, "Got to go to bed. The wife." Now, you hear that, the audience hears
00:52:11
that, I heard that. I didn't think it was any big deal, but investigators thought, "Wow, the wife." That suggests
00:52:17
tension inside that house. I thought that was a bit of a stretch. Um another text that we didn't get to in the hour,
00:52:24
Allison texted Kevin, "I love you." And he didn't text back. And the prosecution
00:52:30
brought this up in court that there may have been some tension, some problem inside, some anger inside that house. Uh
00:52:38
but Allison and Kevin lived together. He knew he was going to see her later. So,
00:52:42
you know, you get busy and you sometimes don't answer those. I'm guilty of that.
00:52:47
Um and you got to be careful about confirmation bias [music] when you're an investigator. And once you start
00:52:53
interpreting everything as evidence of a crime, um >> [music] >> you can really get in trouble, which I
00:53:00
think happened in this case. Welcome back. On October 17th, 2023, this is 2 months
00:53:08
of an investigation going on, police finally declared Kevin's death a homicide. And about 2 months later, a warrant is
00:53:16
issued for Allison's arrest. Uh she turned herself into the Allen County Jail with her parents.
00:53:22
Uh so, I want to ask you about that local bar that Allison and Kevin frequented. It's called the East Haven
00:53:29
Tavern. Uh seems like a place with a lot of regulars and you spoke to some of those. Uh I'm curious about how
00:53:36
Allison's arrest affected the patrons there. I'm also curious about, you know, what they said about the
00:53:44
couple. Anybody that's ever been in a pub, um I used to live in England, uh this East Haven Tavern was like a
00:53:52
pub. Everybody knows everybody. It's like the old TV show Cheers, everybody knows your name.
00:53:58
Uh Allison and Kevin were regulars. Kevin, big personality guy, uh really entertained people. He liked to argue,
00:54:05
you debate in things, but they they really loved him. So, the people there were really shocked at what happened.
00:54:12
And the East Haven Tavern is in New Haven, Indiana. It's a town of roughly 15,000 people. And it's a real
00:54:19
microcosm. But after Allison was arrested and charged in jail, uh well, people had thought, "Well, they must
00:54:26
have something on her. They wouldn't just arrest her unless they they really have a solid case." So, you some of the
00:54:32
people there um started to drift toward that. Others, you know, were were saying, "There's just there's just no
00:54:37
way. There's just no way she could do this." So, this is the intrigue of this case as as
00:54:43
our investigation went forward. Allison pleaded not guilty, but since Indiana rarely allows bail on a murder
00:54:51
charge, she had to remain in jail for 17 months waiting for the trial. I am curious. I mean, how did she spend her
00:54:59
time behind bars? Uh this was uh this was really terrible. Uh she was not allowed any in-person
00:55:07
visits except for her attorneys. Her family not only wasn't allowed to visit in person, but virtually, like on a uh a
00:55:16
FaceTime call. She wrote letters and she could make phone calls to family and friends,
00:55:21
but she was not allowed to see family members. Her attorneys say that in jail, Allison, you know,
00:55:29
tried to make the best of her life there. She was leading uh workout classes and she was trying to
00:55:35
influence people in a positive way. But that isolation, Mhm. The trial is May 6th, 2025.
00:55:43
Um I want to play a clip in the episode from Detective Krueger as he's heading into court that day. Uh I'm anxious.
00:55:51
>> [music] >> What's at stake today is either Kevin Davis gets justice for what was done to
00:55:56
him or we let a a murderer walk [music] free. So, he he's, you know, clearly convinced
00:56:04
that Allison is guilty. Yeah, she is innocent till proven guilty. They didn't have a CSI moment,
00:56:11
they didn't have an eyewitness, they didn't have a motive for for certain, they didn't have so much in this case.
00:56:18
And to say that if she is found not guilty, she still is, that's just wrong. That's just wrong. Uh
00:56:27
keep in mind, Detective Krueger is now Police Chief Krueger. He is highly respected in the community and his
00:56:34
profession. And he owns the mistakes that he made in this releasing that crime scene so early. So,
00:56:42
the trial was really a battle of experts. The jury heard from Dr. Smock, who testified for the prosecution, and
00:56:49
Dr. Dragovich, who testified for the defense. When a jury is faced with two experts,
00:56:55
with two totally opposing views, how how do they determine who or what they believe? Or I wonder if at times they
00:57:05
just cancel each other out. The prosecutors actually had three different doctors testify. And both Dr.
00:57:11
Smock and Dr. Dragovich, they were convincing. This was a face-off. It's always dramatic when this happens because a
00:57:17
life is hanging in the balance, in this case, Allison's life. We also interviewed them and they had a lot of
00:57:23
additional material for us about this case. Dr. Smock, the prosecution's expert,
00:57:29
said that Kevin's CT scan showed multiple fractures to multiple areas of his head. And he believes that Allison
00:57:37
wielded some sort of a weapon, a blunt object, to beat Kevin that was never found, that he didn't fall down the
00:57:43
stairs, but he was attacked. Dr. Dragovich, who testified for the defense, said that the injuries and that
00:57:50
fall and all of that was was the result of one impact to Kevin's head that led to multiple fractures. He believes that
00:57:58
Kevin fell and his head hit the banister, which caused Kevin's brain to ricochet inside his skull.
00:58:06
He made a compelling case that one single impact would not necessarily cause any open external wounds or blood
00:58:14
marks on the banister. There weren't any cuts on his head. We, the 48 Hours people, were a bit overwhelmed trying to
00:58:21
figure all of this out. And so, we really laughed out loud when the juror that we interviewed after this case in
00:58:27
our interview said that they found the the expert testimony to be easy to follow and and clear. Really? Yeah, and
00:58:35
um they were getting it more than we were, but Dr. Dragovich explained it in ways that people could could could
00:58:41
follow. And um he prevailed. Uh it's a 4-day trial. The jury deliberates. They deliver a verdict.
00:58:48
Allison Davis is not guilty. Uh we don't cover a lot of not guiltys. I mean, in in your years of doing 48
00:58:57
Hours, how many not guilty verdicts have you covered? I've had two. This is one of them. Two? Two. That's it. There have
00:59:04
been other cases, too, where I thought there would be a not guilty verdict, but uh there've only been two. And, you
00:59:12
know, one of the jurors said the prosecution's case had holes in it. Wow. But Krueger took the loss very hard. And
00:59:21
um the democratic thing to do would be to accept the jury's verdict. And the lead prosecutor said, "Well, the
00:59:29
jury has spoken." And that her next best theory would be that there was another attacker in the house.
00:59:35
But Krueger said 100% that Allison got away with murder. Um and it's very rare to go on the record
00:59:42
to say something like that and it's unfair. This puts a little scarlet letter on her as she goes back into
00:59:47
society, back into life. A jury of her peers said she's not guilty and as her dad said, "I can't
00:59:54
believe they did this to her. It's unbelievable. Such injustice." He can't believe that they ever charged her
01:00:02
with homicide, kept her in isolation, and then a jury takes just 6 hours after all of that to
01:00:09
find her not guilty. Uh you got to go with that verdict and in this case, I think the jury got it
01:00:15
right. Yeah, yeah. I I mean, I felt everything that dad was saying and another thing that people don't kind of
01:00:21
think about is the money that it takes to defend yourself. I mean, just being accused can be ruinous to your life, you
01:00:27
know? Um so then that brings me cuz the one person that that we're all as a viewer
01:00:33
waiting to hear from in that hour is Allison. I know you guys reached out to her. Um and clearly she didn't want to
01:00:40
be involved. No, uh she's left New Haven and is living with her parents. We did reach out. She declined. We
01:00:48
understand that. It wasn't long after she had been acquitted that we we put in this request to her. Um she not only
01:00:54
lost a husband, uh she was accused of murder, spent 17 months in in jail. But uh Allison, if you're listening out
01:01:02
there, in my mind and I believe in the public's mind now, uh you are an innocent person and um I wish her all
01:01:09
the best in life. And the fact that her father participated, I assume that she gave her blessing and
01:01:17
he represented her very, very well. Absolutely. Um uh well, Peter, thank you for participating in this podcast. This
01:01:24
was a an unexpected ending because 48 Hours doesn't always end like this. >> [music]
01:01:29
>> And uh you know, I'm I'm really happy that Allison is rebuilding her life cuz
01:01:33
there's a lot more life to live for her. All the best to you, Allison. And if you like this episode, of course,
01:01:39
please rate and review on Apple Podcast or Spotify.