Robert Gordon and Meryl McDonald were sentenced to death by the State of Florida for the murder of Dr. Louis Davidson
According to court documents Robert Gordon and Meryl McDonald were hired by Denise Davidson and her fiancé, Leonardo Cisnero to murder her estranged husband Dr. Louis Davidson.
Robert Gordon and Meryl McDonald would break into Dr. Louis Davidson home where he was tortured and murdered. The two killers would rob the home to make it look like a robbery gone bad
Robert Gordon and Meryl McDonald were arrested, convicted and sentenced to death
Robert Gordon Photos
Robert Gordon Now
| DC Number: | 123911 |
|---|---|
| Name: | GORDON, ROBERT R |
| Race: | BLACK |
| Sex: | MALE |
| Birth Date: | 11/25/1962 |
| Initial Receipt Date: | 11/17/1995 |
| Current Facility: | UNION C.I. |
| Current Custody: | MAXIMUM |
| Current Release Date: | DEATH SENTENCE |
Meryl McDonald Photos
Meryl McDonald Now
| DC Number: | 180399 |
|---|---|
| Name: | MCDONALD, MERYL S |
| Race: | BLACK |
| Sex: | MALE |
| Birth Date: | 08/15/1946 |
| Initial Receipt Date: | 11/17/1995 |
| Current Facility: | UNION C.I. |
| Current Custody: | MAXIMUM |
| Current Release Date: | DEATH SENTENCE |
Robert Gordon Case
Dr. Louis A. Davidson and his wife Denise were in the midst of a bitter custody battle and divorce. Both were engaged to other people at the time of Dr. Davidson’s murder; Mrs. Davidson was engaged to another codefendant, Leonardo Cisneros.
Mrs. Davidson and Cisneros arranged for McDonald and Gordon to kill her husband. To that end, they made several trips from Miami to Tampa in late December 1993 and early January 1994, where several witnesses, including Gordon’s friend Clyde Bethel,2 testified that they met Cisneros, met with a lady about some money they were owed, drove past a hospital to see an emergency room, and went to the Thunder Bay Apartments to see about renting an apartment.
On January 24, 1994, Meryl McDonald and Robert Gordon hired Susan Shore to drive them from Miami to Tampa so that they could visit a friend and “pick up a piece of paper.” 3 Upon arriving in Tampa, they met with a lady Shore later identified as Mrs. Davidson and someone named “Carlos,” whom Shore later identified as Cisneros. After McDonald, Gordon, and Shore checked into a Days Inn, Cisneros came by and left with McDonald and Gordon. McDonald and Gordon returned later than night.
Early the next morning, January 25, 1994, they drove to Thunderbay Apartments in St. Petersburg to “where their friend lived,” presumably Dr. Davidson. While they waited for Dr. Davidson to return from his night shift at Bayfront Hospital, McDonald got out of the car and said he was going jogging. Shore and Robert Gordon played catch with a cricket ball on the apartment grounds. When Dr. Davidson pulled into the parking lot a short time later, Gordon told Shore, “Here is my friend. You can go sit in the car now.” While Gordon went over and talked to Dr. Davidson, Shore sat in the car and read a newspaper. Shore testified that Davidson and Gordon then walked toward Davidson’s apartment, with Gordon following Davidson. She last saw Davidson and Gordon going underneath the stairwell immediately adjacent to Davidson’s apartment door. Gordon came back to the car about twenty to twenty-five minutes later; McDonald returned five to ten minutes after Gordon. McDonald told Gordon that “he had the piece of paper.” McDonald patted his stomach and Shore heard something crinkle.
Shore testified that as they drove back to the hotel, McDonald called “Carlos” on his cell phone and said “he had it.” “Carlos” came to the hotel, talked with McDonald and Gordon, and then left. “Carlos” later returned with the lady they had met with upon their arrival in Tampa. Shore identified a picture of Mrs. Davidson as the lady she had seen. A short time later, Shore, McDonald, and Gordon drove back to Miami.
Dr. Davidson’s body was discovered later that day by his fiancee, Patricia Deninno. She found him blindfolded, bound, gagged, and hogtied, lying face down in a bathtub full of bloody water. He was tied with a vacuum cleaner cord and a cashmere belt. Pieces of towel were wrapped around his head and used as a gag. The toilet bowl had been broken off its foundation and the resulting water leak had partially flooded the apartment. Blood was spattered on the bathroom walls and the apartment had been ransacked. There was no indication of forced entry. Shoe prints were found on a tiled floor in the apartment. Dr. Davidson’s watch, a camera, and a money clip with several hundred dollars were missing. Although the apartment had been ransacked, $19,300 in cash and some credit cards remained.
The police placed Mrs. Davidson under surveillance shortly after Dr. Davidson’s murder. Using the name “Pauline White,” Mrs. Davidson subsequently made numerous trips to Western Union. Evidence was later presented that twenty-one money transfers were made, both before 4 and after the murder, with nineteen going to Gordon.5 McDonald’s girlfriend, Carol Cason, picked up two of the transfers at his request.
The police also obtained phone records which showed numerous contacts among the codefendants both prior to and after the murder. The records showed that on the day of the murder, Mrs. Davidson called McDonald’s beeper fifty times during a period of two and a half hours. Mrs. Davidson also bought a cell phone and gave it to McDonald and Gordon, which was then used repeatedly to make hang-up calls to Dr. Davidson’s home and place of work. Several Thunder Bay employees testified that McDonald and Gordon were in the management office on January 18, 1994, and received a copy of the floor plan to Dr. Davidson’s apartment. Gordon’s friend, Clyde Bethel, confirmed that McDonald and Gordon visited Dr. Davidson’s apartment complex that day.
Physical evidence was also recovered from the Days Inn where McDonald, Gordon, and Shore spent the nights of January 24-25, 1994. A sweatshirt and a pair of tennis shoes were found in their room. The tennis shoes had the same sole pattern as the shoeprints found in Dr. Davidson’s apartment. Flecks of human blood were found on the shoes, but the sample was too small to match. The sweatshirt contained fibers from Dr. Davidson’s carpet and Deninno’s cashmere belt, as well as hairs that matched McDonald’s. Dr. Davidson’s blood sample matched the DNA found in stains on the sweatshirt. Receipts confirmed that on the day before the murder, Denise Davidson had purchased a pair of sneakers, a gray sweatshirt, and a purple sweatshirt.
The associate medical examiner, Dr. Marie Hansen, testified that Dr. Davidson had bruises on his face and shoulders, three broken ribs, and multiple lacerations on the back of his scalp, probably caused by a blunt object. The cause of death was drowning. The medical examiner could not determine whether Dr. Davidson was conscious when he died, saying it was possible that he was knocked unconscious by the first blow to his head. Dr. Hansen also testified that from the multiple bindings on his wrists, Dr. Davidson had probably freed one of his wrists during the altercation, only to be re-tied with the belt.
After a jury trial, both defendants were found guilty of first-degree murder. During the penalty phase, Gordon’s sister, Norma Rose, testified that he was a concerned and loving brother and a kind and loving parent to his children. Gordon’s mother, Estella Stuckey, testified that they had a good relationship and that Gordon was a kind and loving son. Finally, Gordon’s pastor testified that he attended his church regularly from late 1991 to late 1992 and led some home Bible studies. The State did not present any further evidence during the penalty phase.
https://caselaw.findlaw.com/court/fl-supreme-court/1254606.html