William Davis was sentenced to death by the State of Florida for the murder of Fabiana Malave
According to court documents William Davis would kidnap, sexually and assault Fabiana Malave
William Davis would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death
William Davis Photos
William Davis FAQ
Where Is William Davis Now
William Davis is incarcerated at Union Correctional Institution
William Davis Case
Around 11:30 a.m. on the morning of October 29, 2009, William Davis arrived at Super Sport Auto, in Seminole County, Florida, purportedly to pick up the title to a vehicle he had recently purchased from the dealership. William Davis did not park at Super Sport Auto, but parked instead at the Post Time Lounge, a nearby business, and walked to the dealership. Fabiana Malave, who worked at Super Sport Auto, was the only employee at the dealership when Davis arrived. When Davis asked her for the title to his recently purchased vehicle, she called Jose and Rosa Hernandez, the co-owners of Super Sport Auto, who told her that Rosa would be at the dealership in about twenty-five minutes with the title.
After Malave got off the phone and informed William Davis that Rosa or Jose would be coming to the dealership later, William Davis grabbed her by the back of the neck, showed her a steak knife that he had brought with him, and walked her out of the dealership, threatening to kill her if she screamed. Davis would later repeat this threat during the course of the crimes. Davis took the victim to her own car and forced her into it. Davis then drove the victim’s car to the Post Time Lounge, where he backed her car into the parking spot directly next to where he had parked his own car earlier that morning. At that point, Davis removed the victim from her car and told her to lie down in the backseat of his car. Davis subsequently drove his car home, with the victim lying down as instructed.
When William Davis arrived at his home, he brought the victim into his bedroom and, once inside, told her to remove her clothing. After she acquiesced, Davis sexually battered her and forced her to perform oral sex on him. Following the sexual battery, the victim asked if she could put her clothes back on, and Davis allowed her to do so. Once the victim was clothed, Davis instructed her to lie face down on his bed, where Davis choked her to death from behind by putting her into a choke hold using his forearm and elbow.
At trial, the medical examiner substantiated Davis’s account of the cause of death. The medical examiner testified that hemorrhaging of the muscles in the front of the victim’s neck and along her spine, bloody contusions of the upper portion of the victim’s esophagus, and fluid buildup in the victim’s lungs and airway showed that she died of asphyxiation caused by strangulation from a choke hold.
After killing the victim, Davis wrapped her body in an orange blanket, covered her head with black plastic, and put her body into the backseat of his car. Davis then drove around for several hours with the victim’s body in his backseat before ultimately deciding to return to the parking lot of the Post Time Lounge, where the victim’s car was still parked.
Following Davis’s abduction of the victim from Super Sport Auto, co-owner Rosa arrived at the dealership at about 12:10 p.m., where she found the door to the office unlocked and noticed that the victim’s car and personal belongings were missing. During the following hours, Rosa attempted to call Davis several times in order to determine whether he had any information regarding the victim’s whereabouts. However, Rosa’s calls went unanswered. At about 5:30 p.m. that evening, the other co-owner, Jose, called the police regarding the victim’s disappearance, and the police arrived at Super Sport Auto shortly thereafter.
While talking to the police officers at Super Sport Auto, Jose saw Davis’s car drive past the dealership. Jose recognized Davis’s car from when he sold the vehicle to Davis because it had a large dent on the side. Jose and the officers pursued Davis in order to question him about the victim’s whereabouts. When Jose saw Davis pull into the Post Time Lounge parking lot, he flagged down an officer and blocked in Davis’s car with his own car. Jose found that Davis had backed his vehicle into a spot next to where the victim’s car was parked. When Jose confronted Davis, Davis “smiled at [Jose] like [Jose] was his best friend,” but when a police officer arrived about forty-five seconds later, Davis’s face went “blank.” When confronted by the police officer, Davis asked the officer to arrest him.
Officers checked Davis’s vehicle for any sign of the victim, discovering her body in the backseat covered by an orange blanket and her head covered in black plastic. One officer checked the victim’s vital signs, but found no indication of life. When paramedics arrived, they confirmed that the victim was dead.
Later that evening, Investigator Robert Hemmert arrived at the Post Time Lounge parking lot where police were holding Davis. Shortly after his arrival, Investigator Hemmert conducted a recorded interview with Davis, in which Davis admitted to kidnapping, sexually battering, and murdering the victim and described the events in great detail. Davis stated to Investigator Hemmert that he had never killed anyone before, but that he found the murder “interesting” and “liberating” and that he would certainly kill again. When asked why he committed the murder, Davis stated that he “kind of tried to figure out a way to ․ die by suicide by cop.” Additionally, when asked if he felt any remorse for the murder, Davis stated that he felt “zero” remorse and explained that he hoped the killing would be considered capital murder so that he could be executed.
After the murder, Catherine Johnson, a crime scene analyst for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, compared Davis’s DNA, which she obtained from a buccal swab taken from Davis, with DNA found on a vaginal swab of a sexual assault kit that was administered to the victim after her death. The DNA found on the vaginal swab matched Davis at all thirteen loci—a result that would be obtained by only 1 in 350 trillion Caucasians, 1 in 22 quadrillion African Americans, and 1 in 420 trillion Southeastern Hispanics. Further, Johnson testified at trial that skin cells found on Davis’s sheets in his home matched the victim’s DNA at six of thirteen loci—a result that would be obtained by only 1 in 1.6 million Caucasians, 1 in 12 million African Americans, and 1 in 2.1 million Southeastern Hispanics—and that skin cells found under the victim’s nails matched Davis at four of thirteen loci—a result that would be obtained by 1 in 8 Caucasians, 1 in 51 African Americans, and 1 in 10 Southeastern Hispanics. Johnson’s DNA testing substantiated Davis’s prior admission that the victim had scratched the back of his neck in an effort to stop Davis as he was choking her.
Although Davis did not dispute that he kidnapped, sexually battered, and murdered the victim, he contended at trial that he was insane at the time of these offenses. In support of this defense, Davis relied on a second recorded conversation he had with Investigator Hemmert several days after the murder, as well as on the testimony of Dr. Charles Golden, a forensic psychologist and mental health expert witness for the defense.
https://caselaw.findlaw.com/court/fl-supreme-court/1680284.html
