FAYETTEVILLE -- A husband accused of helping kill his wife was ordered Thursday to undergo further mental testing to determine if he knowingly waived his Miranda rights when he talked to police.
John Christopher Davis, 29, is charged with accomplice to capital murder in the death of Victoria Annabeth Davis on Aug. 19, 2015.
Legal lingo
Miranda rights: Specific rights any person taken into police custody is entitled to. Law enforcement officers are required to inform a suspect in custody of their Miranda rights. Miranda warnings are often given verbally upon arrest and on paper before a written confession is taken. Failure to adequately provide a Miranda warning can make any statements made by that suspect inadmissible in court.
Source: uslegal.com
Police said Victoria Davis, 24, of 433 S. Hill Ave., was held captive at her house for hours and beaten by her husband and four others.
John Davis' attorneys filed a motion in June asking Washington County Circuit Judge Mark Lindsay to suppress several statements Davis made to police. Kent McLemore and Robby Golden contended Davis wasn't read his rights and wasn't of sound mind because of intellectual disability and the stress of the situation to understand his right against self-incrimination.
The defense contended Davis has been tested for competency and criminal responsibility to the extent required by law and should not be subjected to further testing because they do not contest the findings. They argued further testing would violate Davis' rights against self-incrimination.
Prosecutor Matt Durrett's response asked Lindsay to order more testing to determine if an intellectual disability prevented Davis from being able to make a knowing and intelligent waiver of his Miranda rights.
Durrett said the defense motion to suppress was filed seven months after the results of Davis's mental exam. Had it been filed before the exam, Durrett said he would have requested the specific test needed to make a determination but it wasn't an issue at the time.
"Now, they want to prohibit us from further investigating," Durrett said.
Both sides agree Davis has a low IQ of 71, according to a psychologist hired by the defense. Prosecutors have waived the death penalty after learning of that test result.
Lindsay agreed with prosecutors saying it would be relevant to the case and helpful to the court to have more information about whether Davis has the ability to waive his Constitutional rights. Lindsay said state law allows judges discretion to order more testing beyond competency and criminal responsibility when they think it's needed.
Doctors at the Arkansas State Hospital said in February that Davis is mentally fit to proceed. They said he doesn't suffer from a mental disease and has the capacity to understand the proceedings and assist in his defense.
Davis chose not to participate in an assessment of his mental state at the time of the killing, based on the advice of his attorney, according to the report. He also declined to give doctors an account of the incident.
The other defendants are Mark Edward Chumley, 46; Rebecca Lloyd, 37; Christopher Lee Treat, 30; and Desire Treat, 30. All are charged with accomplice to capital murder. All are being held without bond at the Washington County Detention Center.
Accomplice to capital murder is punishable by either life in prison or the death penalty.
Christopher Treat's attorneys filed a motion in November arguing testing determined he has an IQ of 68 and federal law prohibits a death sentence for offenders who are intellectually disabled at the time of committing capital murder.
Chumley called police and gave his phone to Davis who said he killed his wife because she wanted a divorce. Davis told police he "shot her up with dope" and his wife was "in the living room on the floor," according to the police log.
"She was beaten repeatedly. She was hooked up to a battery charger. She essentially bled to death from the beating she took. She was beaten with a baseball bat. She was raped with a baseball bat," Durrett told a judge at a hearing. "Those are the acts we allege constitute evidence of disregard for human life."
Davis' trial is set for Dec. 4.
NW News on 09/01/2017