Michele Davis' husband pleads guilty to 2008 murder

In 2008, detectives from the Des Moines Police Department (DMPD) in Iowa were called to a car crash that was initially thought to be fatal on an exit ramp of Interstate 235. However, an autopsy revealed that the car's sole occupant, 41-year-old mother Michele Davis, actually had injuries consistent with homicide. This revelation was made in Killer relationship with Faith Jenkins.

Who was Michele Davis?

Michele Davis, who grew up in Des Moines, was the older sister of Todd and Rod Cosner, both of whom Killer relationship. Rod Davis said Michele Davis was “definitely a free spirit” who loved mopeds and was fiercely protective of her two younger brothers.

“People wanted to be near her,” said Michele Davis’ sister-in-law Wendy Cosner. “She liked to be the life of the party.”

The magnet student married her high school sweetheart, Bill McClain, and in 1986, the young couple had a son, Bill McClain Jr. Although the new mother and father seemed to love each other, they separated before the child turned two.

“They were definitely like two kids playing family,” said Todd Cosner. “They were struggling financially, not making much money, the cost of having a baby, the stress of it all, it took its toll.”

According to Bill McClain Jr., the divorce was amicable, and Michele Davis, still in her early 20s, began dating. She met Randy Davis, a U.S. Marine who owned his own construction company. With his two children – including a son, Josh Davis – the single parents moved in together as a blended family and married in 1991.

Michele Davis worked as a stay-at-home mom, and when a drunk driver killed the biological mother of Randy Davis' children, she took on the role of mother to her husband's children and raised them as if they were her own.

However, things weren't always easy in the new family, especially between Michele Davis and her stepson and stepdaughter.

“All I know is that they argued a few times about rules, about things that Michele didn't want them to do,” Wendy Cosner said.

A marriage in trouble

Tensions between the couple reached a peak in 2001, when Todd Cosner called a “housing crisis” that forced Randy Davis to sell his construction company. This also prompted Michele Davis to enter the workforce. She soon took a job at TMC Transportation in Des Moines, working in payroll.

With Michele Davis bringing home a lot of money and Randy Davis' career stalling, tensions between husband and wife escalated.

“Everything had to be done more and more according to Randy’s ideas,” said Rod Cosner Killer relationship“There was nothing in between.”

Michele Davis first tried to leave Randy Davis in 2004. However, according to her relatives, she was only gone for a few days before her husband persuaded her to return home. She stayed until the children were mostly out of the house, and in April 2008, she left the house for good.

Within a few hours she had moved into her own apartment.

“I think she loved him, but she just knew she couldn't stay there any longer,” said Bill McClain Jr.

According to her brother, Michele Davis' relationship with her stepchildren only deteriorated when she filed for divorce, taking some possessions and money with her.

“Her stepchildren were mad at her,” said Todd Cosner. “They felt like she had stolen from their father.”

Did Michele Davis die in a car accident?

On September 11, 2008, five months after she moved out, Michele Davis was pronounced dead at the scene after her vehicle suddenly left the roadway on the freeway at 4:48 p.m., struck several cars, and then rolled over on an exit ramp. However, investigators, including Eric Hartman of the DMPD's traffic unit, did not believe the impact would have killed Michele Davis in the way it did.

“I have worked on many fatal accidents over the years,” said Hartman Killer relationship“I had a feeling something was wrong.”

DMPD Detectives Mike McTaggart, Dennis O'Donnell and David Seybert were assigned to the case, which became even more suspicious after the victim's body was sent to the Polk County Coroner's Office. The following day, experts determined that Michele Davis had suffered a single fatal gunshot wound from a small caliber firearm that had penetrated just behind her ear, so the case was now classified as a homicide investigation.

At this point, investigators weren't sure if Michele Davis' death was the result of aggressive driving, a sniper, a ricochet bullet or something else. They hoped to find new clues by requesting possible video footage from the Iowa Department of Transportation.

The vehicle contained documents related to the impending divorce, and according to Det. McTaggart, Michele Davis had been placed under a restraining order against her estranged husband.

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The investigation

Relatives admitted that Randy Davis had “dragged out” the divorce. But although the husband allegedly controlled the marriage, there was no evidence that he had ever physically abused his wife or owned a firearm.

Investigators soon turned their attention to the victim's stepson, Josh Davis, who admitted to being “upset” that Michele Davis did not leave quietly.

“Josh had recently been discharged from the Marine Corps, [and] “At the time, he was living with his father,” said Det. McTaggart, who claims the son's military background piqued investigators' interest.

Josh Davis said he went to the mall with his sister on the day of the murder before coming home to watch television around 3:30 p.m., according to a recorded interview between Josh Davis and Det. Seybert. He said his father came home around 5:30 p.m.

The stepson admitted he “didn't like” some of Michele Davis' demands given the couple's ongoing divorce proceedings. According to people familiar with the case, Michele Davis demanded half of everything, including the house and retirement funds.

For his part, Randy Davis said he spoke to his divorce lawyer on the phone at 3:15 p.m. and returned home around 3:45 p.m. He claimed Josh Davis came home around 5 p.m. before cooking. Soon after, Randy Davis, whose interview was videotaped and published by Killer relationship – ended the interrogation and called in a lawyer.

“At this point you're trying to figure out who's telling the truth and who's not,” Det. Seybert said.

Investigators track down a murderer

On September 12, 2008, authorities obtained a search warrant for the home of Randy and Josh Davis. While there was no sign of a firearm, investigators found a cleaning kit for a .22 caliber rifle, a weapon that could well be consistent with the one used to kill Michele Davis. They also searched Randy Davis' red Ford F-150 pickup truck, which matched a vehicle witnesses saw driving “erratically” on the highway shortly before the crash.

Despite the incriminating discoveries, the evidence at the time was not sufficient to enable the authorities to bring charges.

The Iowa Department of Transportation released traffic footage. While there was no video, grainy still images were captured every few seconds showing a red Ford F-150 speeding down the highway and eventually catching up to Michele Davis' vehicle.

Further details, such as the driver's identity card and license plate number, could not be determined.

When detectives traced the victim's movements since she left work at 4:30 p.m., they also found video footage from a local car wash.

“We see Michele Davis' vehicle and several cars later we see the red pickup truck,” said Det. Seybert. “It's unbelievable.”

Cell phone data located Randy Davis' cell phone near his estranged wife's workplace as she left work, contradicting his earlier statements to police when he said he was home.

An unexpected witness comes forward

On Sept. 19, 2008 – more than a week after Michele Davis' death – Det. McTaggart said he received an unexpected call from his sergeant telling him that Josh Davis planned to come to the police station with his attorney for a new interview. In his videotaped interview with detectives, Josh Davis admitted he knew more about his stepmother's death than he had previously let on, an investigation revealed. Killer relationship with Faith Jenkins.

“When I came home from my sister's, my dad's truck was in the driveway,” Josh Davis said. “When I walked in, he came down and said, 'I wish you hadn't come home.'”

The son said he came home shortly before the shooting and tried to stop his father from leaving the house with a .22-caliber rifle.

“He said he couldn't take it anymore because he was going to have nothing left,” Josh Davis told authorities. “I pushed him against the wall and told him he didn't want to do anything stupid. And then he got in his truck and drove away.”

The son said there was no sign of the gun when Randy Davis returned home around 5:30 p.m.

The gun used to kill Michele Davis was never found.

“That's when he told me he did it,” Josh Davis continued to investigators. “He didn't tell me how, just that he did it.”

Investigators were inclined to believe the son, especially since he seemed sincere and Randy Davis had already lied to authorities about his whereabouts, as proven by cell phone records. This was enough for authorities to charge Randy Davis with premeditated murder.

Det. Seybert called Josh Davis' willingness to come forward an “act of courage.”

In 2010, Randy Davis finally pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to 50 years in prison. According to records obtained by Oxygen.comhe will be eligible for parole in 2043.

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