In a significant breakthrough, detectives from a Kansas cold case unit have apprehended a man linked through DNA evidence to the murders of two women in the 1990s, charging him with their deaths.
Gary Dion Davis, 52, now faces two counts of second-degree murder for allegedly ending the lives of Christina King, discovered lifeless behind an abandoned structure on Christmas Day in 1996, and Pearl Barnes, found dead in an empty residence a month prior. Interestingly, Davis had been a long-distance trucker in the 90s.
Chief Karl Oakman of the Kansas City Police Department remarked, “Mr. Davis proceeded with his life as though he hadn’t committed such heinous acts.”
Davis’ attorney details remain undisclosed, and efforts to contact him proved futile.
While investigations continue into the murders, the preliminary understanding is that Davis was likely unfamiliar with either victim. Authorities are probing if Davis could be tied to additional unsolved crimes.
Established in January 2022, the Kansas City Kansas Police Department’s cold case team is making strides, already identifying suspects in 11 unresolved homicides. Chief Oakman asserted the unit’s commitment to justice, “It could be anywhere, anytime, but rest assured, justice will find you.”
Furthermore, the unit resolved two other unrelated cold cases. In a notable development, 66-year-old prisoner Leon Caldwell, already serving for a 1998 murder, confessed to the 1997 killing of Dion Estell. Caldwell’s motivation for the admission, given his current hospice status, was to provide Estell’s family some semblance of closure.
Moreover, a case from 1976 involving a newborn found abandoned behind an apartment complex was also unraveled. DNA analysis in 2022 pointed to the child’s mother, who accused her now-deceased grandmother of being the culprit.