Richard Davis, who teamed up with partner Dena Riley to torture two women to death and videotape the events, has been sentenced to death.
When he was on the run, I was hoping they would come through Kentucky. I was hoping Pilgrim and I would get a crack at their skulls.
Sadly, prior to their arrest, they raped a 5-year-old girl.
Richard Davis has been convicted for his role in the snuff-film killing of Marsha Spicer. Those two scumbags killed Spicer and Michelle Ricci (videotaping their assault and murder of Spicer), and also sexually assaulted a child while fleeing authorities.
The death penalty will likely be a no-brainer in this case.
07/20/2006: Richard Davis and Dena Riley–who tortured two women to death and videotaped it–have been hit with more charges, stemming from their abuse of Michelle Ricci.
Prosecutors have yet to decide on seeking the death penalty, although that ought to be a done deal.
07/13/2006: Prosecutors have filed additional charges against Richard Davis and Dena Riley, the couple who bound, tortured, raped, and strangled Marsha Spicer and Michelle Ricci, capturing the acts on videotape.
The additonal charges involve the brutal assault on Michelle Ricci, whose burned body was found after their arrest. (Information from Davis led investgators to that body.)
Davis now faces 18 charges involving the assault of Spicer, and 22 involving the assault of Ricci. He is charged with the first-degree murder of Spicer.
Prosecutors have not yet decided–but will soon decide–if they will seek the death penalty.
This should be a no-brainer.
If Davis and Riley are allowed to live, the death penalty should be abolished.
06/03/2006: The Kansas City Star is reporting that the snuff-film couple–Richard Davis and Dena Riley–have been charged in federal court for kidnapping her, as the FBI determined that the child was taken across state lines.
It also appears that Davis and Riley deceived a couple regarding their “faith” in order to abduct a 5-year-old girl.
While on the run from Missouri authorities, Davis and Riley went to the home of someone that Davis knew. Davis claimed that–after having spent time in prison–he had “found religion” and “turned his life around”. They spent the night at that house.
In the morning, they offered to take the five-year-old girl to a restaurant; the girl (and her parents) trusted them. (Note: I can excuse the girl, but her parents were not exactly the brightest bulbs in the box. Trusting their kid with a convict?)
From there, Davis and Riley would sexually assault the girl.
I mention their use of religion in deception because I expect the religion card to be played often in this case. I can see Davis and/or Riley using this as a springboard to plead for leniency from the court in order to escape the death penalty.
If I’m on the jury, I’m not buying it.
I hope they really do receive Christ while they are in prison; however, that should have no bearing on the justice process.
06/01/2006: The legal woes of Richard Davis and Dena Riley are mounting. According to the Kansas City Star,
(1) Davis and Riley have confessed to the torture murder of Michelle Ricci, bringing the known body count to two.
(2) Davis and Riley sexually assaulted the five-year-old girl that they kidnapped in Kansas. The prosecutor described it as “the most horrific abuse of a child anyone has ever seen.”
So far, here is the cost of letting a known violent sex offender back onto the streets:
(1) 41-year-old Marsha Spicer gets bound, beaten, raped, sodomized, and strangled.
(2) 36-year-old Michelle Ricci gets bound, beaten, raped, sodomized, and strangled.
(3) a five-year-old girl gets abducted and sexually assaulted.
05/30/2006: Richard Davis and Dena Riley, who videotaped themselves torturing, raping, and murdering one or more women–pleaded ‘not guilty’ today in their first court appearance.
I guess that is to be expected, given that they have yet to receive lawyers. They may want to reconsider their pleas, given that they have been caught–literally with their pants down–on videotape. Even the O.J. “Dream Team” won’t be able to help them here.
Missouri is the show-me state, and Davis and Riley have fulfilled the “show me” part. The only moral dilemma will be life or death.
Predictions:
(1) Davis will get death, hands down. He’s a prior violent sex offender who served 18 years for a rape and sodomy conviction. Making a snuff film will earn him an express trip to the gurney. He’ll neither pass go, nor collect $200.
(2) The prosecution will have to fight hard for it, but Riley will also get death. She will try to paint herself as Davis’ victim. He will be portrayed a diabolical combination of Ted Bundy and the BTK killer, and she was totally brainwashed. She’s already trying to effect sympathy by crying in court. At the end, it won’t wash.
Some will read this and suggest that I’m being unfair, that we should be doing the Christian thing and ministering to them. I’m all for that; I’m also for administering societal justice. And this is not about “rehabilitation”.
As Davis and Riley sit on death row, they will have ample opportunity to receive Christian ministry.
As for the administration of justice, the fact is this couple got their collective rocks off torturing at least two women to death, and videotaped their atrocities. Marsha Spicer and Michelle Ricci did not ask to be tortured, raped, sodomized, and strangled.
Riley is crying in court now, but Ricci’s and Spicer’s cries didn’t gain them any mercy from Riley.
If Davis or Riley gets life, I’ll be quite surprised.
05/30/2006: Richard Davis and Dena Riley–the couple who videotaped their torture killing of Marsha Spicer–are in more hot water.
Authorities have dug up a third body connected with their nihilist spree. This in addition to Spicer and Michelle Ricci.
So far, we have three people who paid a horrendous price, because we chose to let a violent sex offender roam the streets.
Here are two of them. The first is Marsha Spicer; the second is Michelle Ricci.
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05/25/2006: UPDATE: Fox News is reporting that Richard Davis and Dena Riley–who are wanted for the torture, rape, and murder of 41-year-old Marsha Spicer–have been captured. Apparently, they turned themselves in.
I am glad to see that they will get to face the music. Hopefully, we will also find ou what happened to Michelle Ricci, an acquaintance of Spicer who also knew Davis and Riley and who is also missing and feared dead.
This time, I’m sure they will throw the book at Davis–a convicted sex offender who was freed last year after doing 18 years on a rape and sodomy conviction. He will get life, if not the death penalty. Unfortunately, that will do Spicer–and probably Ricci–no good.
UPDATE: They had a 5-year-old child with them when they were captured. Given that the girl was from Kansas, they are going to be facing some federal kidnapping charges for taking a child across state lines.
Before this case is over, Davis and Riley will be remembered among the most notorious sex criminals of all time.
It’s cases like this that make me want to support the death penalty.
Guilty Plea in Snuff Film Case
Dena Riley avoided the death penalty by pleading guilty. She will not see the light of day as a free person. Her partner–Richard Davis–was sentenced to death.