A Boone County man pleaded guilty to manslaughter Monday in connection with the 2010 death of his wife, whose body was buried in a barn behind their house about six miles east of Harrison.
Morris Dean Davis, 62, was initially charged with first-degree murder. The plea Monday to the reduced charge still netted Davis 32 years in prison, said Chris Carter, deputy prosecutor for Boone County.
Besides manslaughter, Davis also pleaded guilty to manufacturing a controlled substance, abuse of a corpse and tampering with evidence.
Lisa Marie Davis, 45, was shot once in the head with a .223-caliber rifle, said Carter. She was buried in the barn, then covered with a layer of concrete, 8 inches of clay and cedar logs, he said.
Morris Dean Davis’ trial was to begin Monday, but he entered the plea instead before Circuit Judge John Putman.
Davis shot his wife after he learned that she’d met another man on the Internet, Putman said.
According to an affidavit filed after an Arkansas State Police investigation, the man she met online lived in Mississippi. They corresponded daily for two years but never met in person, according to the affidavit.
Morris Dean Davis initially told people his wife had run away, said Carter. Then, later, he told a friend Lisa Marie Davis had committed suicide. The friend contacted the Boone County sheriff’s office.
When confronted by police, Morris Dean Davis changed his story from missing wife to suicide.
“The physical evidence the state has does not support that position,” said Carter. “The state doesn’t know all the circumstances as to what occurred in that room because it was only him and her. The state has a strong idea that there was an argument and what it was over, and that’s the evidence we would have presented tothe jury. We strongly suspect it was over Internet usage, computer usage and threats to leave.”
Morris Dean Davis told police he left his wife’s body in the bed for 2 1/2 days before burying it in the barn.
“Dean stated he did not call law enforcement because he wanted to keep Lisa close to him,” the affidavit states.
The shooting took place on July 5, 2010. Lisa Marie Davis’ body was found Aug. 23, 2010, according to the affidavit.
Within a month after the shooting, Morris Dean Davis had taken out a “lonely hearts” advertisement in the Harrison Daily Times, Carter said.
Northwest Arkansas, Pages 9 on 01/16/2013