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Texas teen, Shania Gray, killed before she could testify, family friend says. Franklin Davis Convicted and Sentenced to Death!

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Texas teen, Shania Gray, killed before she could testify, family friend says. Franklin Davis Convicted and Sentenced to Death! Empty Texas teen, Shania Gray, killed before she could testify, family friend says. Franklin Davis Convicted and Sentenced to Death!

Post by lisette Mon Sep 10, 2012 7:44 pm

Texas teen, Shania Gray, killed before she could testify, family friend says. Franklin Davis Convicted and Sentenced to Death! Gray_davis_split
Police in the Dallas suburb of Carrollton say 30-year-old Franklin B. Davis, left, of Irving, was charged with capital murder Sunday after confessing to the death of 16-year-old Shania Gray.

CARROLLTON, Texas –  A Texas man accused of raping a 16-year-old girl used social media to lure her to a meeting, abduct her from her school and drive her to a river, where he killed her to keep her from testifying against him, an arrest warrant said.
The man insisted in a jailhouse interview Monday that he only wanted to talk to the teen and prove his innocence but said he was overcome by "demons" once they were face-to-face.
Franklin B. Davis, 30, of the Dallas suburb of Irving, was charged with capital murder Sunday in the death of Shania Gray. Gray was last seen alive Thursday afternoon at Hebron High School in nearby Carrollton. Her body was found Saturday in a secluded area near the Trinity River.
Carrollton police say Davis confessed to arranging a meeting with Gray under false pretenses, driving her to a trail near the river and shooting her twice with a .38-caliber pistol. According to an arrest affidavit, Gray fell into the river and called Davis by his nickname: "Why, Wish?"
Davis told police he then stepped on her neck until she stopped breathing, the affidavit said.
Carrollton police spokesman Jon Stovall said in an email that police believe Davis killed Gray because she was about to testify against him.
A spokeswoman for Gray's family, Sherry Ramsey, told The Dallas Morning News that Gray met Davis when she babysat his two children. Ramsey said that later, after the teen declined many requests to babysit, Gray told her grandmother that Davis had raped her.
The crime was reported to Mesquite police, and Davis was charged with four counts of sexual assault of a child. The trial was scheduled to start next month.
Ramsey said Davis had warned Gray he would kill her if she told anyone about the assault.
According to an arrest warrant, Davis contacted Gray through social media and pretended to be someone else in an attempt to get information about the sexual assault case. Davis then used a pre-paid cellphone to set up a meeting with Gray at her high school on Thursday.
Davis told WFAA-TV in a jailhouse interview that he tracked Gray down because he wanted to prove his innocence in the sexual assault case.
"I needed to get some kind of evidence, some kind of proof myself to show I did not have sex with her and that she's lying," Davis told the television station. He said he didn't intend to harm Gray but was overcome in the moment.
"I was fighting demons," Davis told the station. "It was like a different person was in me. It wasn't me."
Davis told authorities that Gray was surprised to see him but got into his car when he told her he wanted to talk to her about the sexual assault case. He said he then drove her to the remote area.
Stovall said police believe Gray was killed within an hour after she was picked up.
Davis was being held in the Dallas County jail on $2 million bond. Attorneys listed for him did not return messages left Monday by The Associated Press.

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Texas teen, Shania Gray, killed before she could testify, family friend says. Franklin Davis Convicted and Sentenced to Death! Empty Re: Texas teen, Shania Gray, killed before she could testify, family friend says. Franklin Davis Convicted and Sentenced to Death!

Post by lisette Tue Sep 11, 2012 11:51 am

Man admits to killing Carrollton girl Shania Gray

CARROLLTON — The body of a 16-year-old Carrollton girl has been discovered in the Trinity River in Irving. Franklin B. Davis, 30, is being charged with capital murder and was being held at the Carrollton Municipal Jail on unrelated traffic warrants during the investigation.

Franklin B. Davis is being charged with capital murder, according to the Carrollton Police Department.
Shania Gray was last seen at 4 p.m. Thursday at Hebron High School, and according to Jon Stovall, public information officer for the Carrollton Police Department, Gray was reported missing Friday morning.

"When we started the investigation, we didn't know where she was or if she had left on her own accord," he said. "We were just trying to figure out where she could be. She just moved from Mesquite and we didn't have any background on her or her family. We talked to the Mesquite Police Department and found she had prior reports involving Franklin Davis."

In Dallas County, Davis is charged with felony counts of sexual assault of a child. Gray is the victim listed in the case.

"The prior case was not a Carrollton case as she just moved here and we weren't involved in that," Stovall said. "I don't know how they initially came into contact with each other, but there is a pending felony Dallas County court case where she is the victim and he is the suspect."

After initial reports, Carrollton PD began investigating whether Davis was involved when they discovered the two had been in near-constant contact the day Gray went missing.

"We were looking to see if he was some how connected or if he knew where she was," Stovall said. "We put their phone records together and realized they were together - it showed they were at the same place at the same time and we knew he was connected."

Davis was arrested and taken into CPD custody on unrelated traffic warrants.

"We brought him in and arrested him for that warrant - he had unpaid fines in Fort Worth and Balch Springs. We interviewed him multiple times and then they discovered a body in Irving on Saturday around 4:30 p.m. We realized it was more than likely her, and in the evening on Saturday, Davis told us that he killed her."

Stovall said Davis did not give a clear motive as to why he killed her.

"We can only attempt to speculate," Stovall said. "We know there is a pending case where she is the victim and he is going to trial. He didn't specifically say, but that case has led us to believe that [could be why]."

According to Carrollton PD, Davis told officers he killed Gray shortly after picking her up from school on Thursday.

"They made several contacts before he picked her up," Stovall said. "She got into the car, he drove her down to the park, where he killed her and dumped her body in the [Trinity River]. She was dead within an hour or so after he picked her up from school, according to what Davis is telling us."

Stovall said her body had been in the river for two days before a passerby saw her and notified police. The family of the victim was unaware of any contact between the two, Stovall said.

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Texas teen, Shania Gray, killed before she could testify, family friend says. Franklin Davis Convicted and Sentenced to Death! Empty Re: Texas teen, Shania Gray, killed before she could testify, family friend says. Franklin Davis Convicted and Sentenced to Death!

Post by raine1953 Tue Sep 11, 2012 12:50 pm

OMG what a horrible man! That poor girl, he must have said something to lead her to believe she was safe getting into his car. Him and his demons needs the Electric Chair
at the very least.
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Texas teen, Shania Gray, killed before she could testify, family friend says. Franklin Davis Convicted and Sentenced to Death! Empty Re: Texas teen, Shania Gray, killed before she could testify, family friend says. Franklin Davis Convicted and Sentenced to Death!

Post by Praying For Faith Tue Sep 11, 2012 10:45 pm

I agree Raine!

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Texas teen, Shania Gray, killed before she could testify, family friend says. Franklin Davis Convicted and Sentenced to Death! Empty Re: Texas teen, Shania Gray, killed before she could testify, family friend says. Franklin Davis Convicted and Sentenced to Death!

Post by Wrapitup Tue Sep 25, 2012 5:35 pm

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Texas teen, Shania Gray, killed before she could testify, family friend says. Franklin Davis Convicted and Sentenced to Death! Empty Re: Texas teen, Shania Gray, killed before she could testify, family friend says. Franklin Davis Convicted and Sentenced to Death!

Post by Wrapitup Tue Sep 25, 2012 5:36 pm

Neighbors: Few knew of threats against Texas teen

MESQUITE, Texas — Neighbors and friends knew Shania Gray as a friendly, vivacious athlete. Few knew the 16-year-old had reported a man for rape until she disappeared last week and turned up dead.

The man she accused, Franklin B. Davis, has confessed to police and in jailhouse interviews to killing her. Police have said he did so to prevent Gray from testifying against him in a sexual assault case scheduled for trial next month.

Davis, 30, who lives in the Dallas suburb of Irving, has been charged with capital murder in her death and is being held on $2 million bail.

Gray's family was in the process of moving from one Dallas suburb to another so that her father could be closer to work, said Sherry Ramsey, a close family friend.

Neighbors in Mesquite, where the family lived for years, described Gray as friendly and caring. Hundreds of people turned out Monday night for a candlelight vigil at the high school she attended until this fall.

"Every time she saw me come in, she would get my attention to say hello," Peggy Mitchell, who lived next door to Gray's family, said Tuesday. Mitchell said she often saw Gray outside, playing basketball on a bent hoop in the family's driveway.

Ramsey described Gray as a "social butterfly" who never left Ramsey's home without giving her a hug. Gray also cared for a younger brother who has autism, she said.

"I was in awe at the relationship," Ramsey said. "She was like a second mother to him."

Ramsey and another family friend said few people knew Gray had been raped until she disappeared.

Gray's mother, Sherry James, contacted Mesquite police in April 2011 to report that Davis had sexually assaulted Gray while she was babysitting his children, according to a police affidavit released Tuesday. Gray told an investigator that Davis — whom she called "Wish" — had exposed himself and had sex with her four separate times between January and March, the affidavit said.

Family friend Nina Adams said Gray didn't tell anyone what had happened at first because Davis threatened her.

"She started making up stories as to why she didn't want to babysit," Adams said. Eventually, the teen told her mother and grandmother, Adams said.

Davis was arrested in July 2011 and charged with four counts of sexual assault to a child. His trial was scheduled for next month, and police in Carrollton, the suburb where Gray began attending school last week, said Gray had been expected to testify.

A spokesman for Carrollton police and spokeswoman for Gray's new school district said no threats against her were reported before her disappearance. A spokesman for Mesquite police did not return multiple phone messages.

According to relatives and an affidavit released by Carrollton police, Davis posed as a teenage boy on social media and bought a new cellphone to contact Gray and get information about the sexual assault case.

The two exchanged text messages Thursday, though Carrollton police spokesman Jon Stovall said he didn't know how many. Adams said Gray's mother told her that Gray received a text message Thursday saying her Facebook friend was waiting outside her new school as a surprise.

Davis told Carrollton police Gray was surprised to see him but got into his car because he wanted to discuss the case. He told police and several television stations that he drove her to an area near the Trinity River and shot her twice. He then stepped on her neck until she stopped breathing, the affidavit said. Her body was found two days later.

Davis told television station WFAA in a jailhouse interview that Gray had agreed to recant the sexual assault allegations, but he still attacked her. He said the sexual assault case had taken a toll on him.

"I was fighting with my demons for a little over a year, and it got too much," he said. "I couldn't ... pretty much no one was safe around me. My mind was on a whole another level."

But Ramsey and others say there's only one person to blame for Gray's death.

"He took away an extraordinary young lady," she said. "He really did."

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Texas teen, Shania Gray, killed before she could testify, family friend says. Franklin Davis Convicted and Sentenced to Death! Empty Texas DA pushing death penalty for man accused in teen's rape, murder

Post by Wrapitup Fri Oct 05, 2012 9:48 pm

Published October 04, 2012
FoxNews.com

Franklin Davis already was charged with four counts of sexual assault when he took Carrollton high school sophomore Shania Gray from her school.

Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins says he'll seek the death penalty in the capital murder case of a 30-year-old man charged with the rape-murder of a 16-year-old suburban Dallas girl last month.

Authorities say Franklin Davis already was charged with four counts of sexual assault when he took Carrollton High School sophomore Shania Gray from her school.

"She asked me if I was going to hurt her and I said, 'No.'"

Gray had been expected to testify against Davis at his trial on those charges. The Dallas Morning News reports investigators say he posed as another person on Facebook to make contact with her.
Davis told MyFoxDFW.com in a jailhouse interview that he never intended on killing the girl.

"She ended up seeing that I had a gun," he said. "She asked me if I was going to hurt her and I said, 'No.'"

He recalled crying in front of the girl, telling her about how her assault allegations had changed his life.
Instead of just talking, Davis told police he drove the girl to a park trail beside the Trinity River in Irving, then shot her twice.

"Davis stated that Gray fell partially into the river and began asking, 'Why, Wish?' -- a nickname that Davis admitted to using," the affidavit says. "Davis then reached down and pulled Gray up onto the bank. Davis stated that he then stepped on her neck until she stopped breathing."

Davis was indicted on the murder charge Wednesday. Gray's body was found along a fork of the Trinity River on Sept. 8.

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Texas teen, Shania Gray, killed before she could testify, family friend says. Franklin Davis Convicted and Sentenced to Death! Empty Re: Texas teen, Shania Gray, killed before she could testify, family friend says. Franklin Davis Convicted and Sentenced to Death!

Post by Wrapitup Sun Dec 09, 2012 8:27 am

DALLAS -
A murder suspect who escaped from custody Tuesday night prompted a manhunt and standoff.

The Dallas Sheriff's Office said 30-year-old Franklin Davis grabbed a deputy's duty weapon and fled during a visit to Parkland Hospital.

Deputies found him a short time later barricaded alone inside a van near the intersection of Harry Hines Boulevard and Reagan Street. A standoff ensued.

Davis surrendered and was taken into custody after 10:30 p.m. He was taken back to the hospital because he was complaining of chest pains.

In September he was charged with the capital murder of 16-year-old Shania Gray. He told police he killed her because she was going to testify against him in a rape trial.

No one was hurt during Tuesday night's incident.

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Texas teen, Shania Gray, killed before she could testify, family friend says. Franklin Davis Convicted and Sentenced to Death! Empty Data recovery leads to murder conviction ~ Franklin Davis was recently convicted of the murder of 16-year-old Shania Gray.

Post by Wrapitup Thu Feb 13, 2014 1:45 pm

By Tim Sandle
Feb 5, 2014

A data recovery company played a key part in helping bring a murder suspect to justice in a Texas case. Here forensic evidence proved the killer lured the teenage victim to her death with deceiving text and social media messages.

Franklin Davis was recently convicted of the murder of 16-year-old Shania Gray, according to Dallas News. Much of the prosecution rested on whether Davis had sent threatening messages to Gray in the build-up to the murder. The initial problem that the prosecution faced was that Davis had attempted to destroy his iPhone.

At the end of the trial, the jury agreed with the prosecution that Davis murdered Gray. Davis had already been charged for sexually assaulting Gray. It then emerges that Davis lured Gray, who was his family’s babysitter, to a meeting in Carrollton, Texas, where he killed her to prevent her from testifying. Gray received text and social media messages from Davis, who was posing as a private investigator for the rape trial.

Davis’ iPhone was discovered in a pond near the victim’s body. The smartphone was destroyed to the point where a federal government forensic lab was unable to retrieve the necessary information for prosecution. Fortunately a private security company was able to retrieve the data.

The company involved was DriveSavers Data Recovery. The company has expertise in Digital Forensics and Electronic Discovery, especially in relation to the recovery of electronically stored information.

The company was able to perform a complete recovery of the iPhone’s data that was key in the outcome of Davis’s murder trial. Davis is now facing the death penalty.

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Texas teen, Shania Gray, killed before she could testify, family friend says. Franklin Davis Convicted and Sentenced to Death! Empty Franklin Davis sentenced to death for killing teen rape accuser

Post by Wrapitup Thu Feb 13, 2014 1:50 pm

By MATTHEW WATKINS and JENNIFER EMILY Staff Writers
Published: 16 November 2013 09:52 PM
Updated: 16 November 2013 11:46 PM

A 31-year-old Mesquite man was sentenced to death Saturday for murdering a teenage baby sitter who had accused him of rape.

Franklin Davis admitted to shooting 16-year-old Shania Gray two times at an Irving park in September 2012 after picking her up from school in Carrollton. He then stepped on her throat to stop her breathing.

At the time, Davis was poised to stand trial on a charge that he sexually assaulted Shania. He has repeatedly denied that charge and said during the trial that he killed Shania to keep her from testifying against him.
Davis cracked a smile and stood with his hands in his pockets when state District Judge Mike Snipes read the sentence Saturday morning. Davis then shook hands with his attorneys and was escorted out of the courtroom.
He had been waiting to learn his punishment since before lunch Friday, when jury deliberations began. Jurors were sequestered in a hotel overnight and reached their decision within about 30 minutes of reconvening Saturday.
The resolution brought relief and tears to the dozen or so of Shania’s friends and relatives gathered in the courtroom. A few hugged or nodded their heads firmly upon hearing the verdict. Some wore T-shirts that said, “No more violence.”

“I just feel like justice has been served,” said Toni Alexander, a family friend of Shania. “It is a good day. It is — even though a child has been lost.”

Prosecutors also praised the jury’s decision. They pointed to Davis’ violent past as a sign that he is a future danger to society. They presented evidence of several assaults on women and, after his arrest, a brief escape from Dallas County custody. A deputy was injured during the escape.

The prosecutors also argued that justice was important for Shania, who had a right to speak out about her abuse.
“Shania Gray finally has closure,” prosecutor Brandon Birmingham said. “He tried everything he could to drag her name through the mud for the last year and a half, and a jury finally stood up to him.”

Before he killed Shania, Davis called and texted her pretending to be a man named “D” and asking repeatedly about the alleged rapes. He testified that he was conducting his own investigation because he did not believe the police or attorneys were properly looking into the case.

Davis also sent himself fake texts that appeared to come from Shania’s phone. The messages denied the sexual assault allegations. He told jurors during the guilt-innocence phase of the trial that he killed Shania because “she ruined my life.”

Defense attorneys focused on Davis’ past and urged jurors not to base their verdict on emotion.

They said Davis grew up in a violent, drug-ridden area of St. Louis, “an urban American nightmare.” They said he had been molested by his siblings and grandfather and neglected by his mother, who was raped and murdered in 1997.
“It would have been better if those children had been raised by wolves,” defense attorney Brady Wyatt said during the trial. “Wolves protect their pups.”

The defense attorneys declined to comment while leaving the courthouse.

Prosecutors still must navigate a long legal process before Davis can be executed. All death penalty sentences are granted automatic review by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. Other legal challenges are likely. The average Texas death row inmate spends more than a decade behind bars.

But Shania’s friends and family said they were happy to have the trial over. It has been a difficult year, they said.
Shania’s mother, Sherry James, who sat in the front row with her arms crossed during much of the trial, missed the verdict because her son was in the hospital. After the punishment was announced, her friends and family called her from the courthouse hallway. She could be heard crying over the speaker phone.

James said during the trial that her surviving son is autistic and doesn’t speak. She said he can’t express emotion or understand what happened to his sister but he knows she is gone.

Sometimes, she told the jury, she plays him videos from her phone of Shania singing.
“He just kisses the phone,” she said. “That was his best friend.”

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