Augusta Georgia Military Divorce Attorney - Husband arrested in freeway shooting
MOLLY HOTTLE
mhottle@dmreg.com
Police today arrested the husband of a Des Moines woman who was shot to death last week as she drove on Interstate Highway 235.
Randy L. Davis, 52, was arrested at home without incident, police said. He is charged with first-degree murder. Bond is set at $500,000.
Maj. Craig Zubrod said the arrest was based on “witness statements and other evidence.” He was not specific.
Police would not say what kind of gun was used or whether they have the alleged murder weapon.
Michele Davis, 41, died Sept. 11 when her eastbound car went out of control and crashed on I-235 north of downtown Des Moines. Police initially investigated her death as a fatal car crash, but an autopsy showed that she had suffered a gunshot wound to the head.
Witnesses linked a red pickup truck to the crime scene. Police said Thursday that an image of the truck, a 2002 red Ford F-150 with an extended cab, was also captured on Department of Transportation traffic cameras before the crash, which involved four other vehicles.
A red Ford F-150 with an extended cab was in the driveway Thursday at the Davis home at 1409 King Ave. A man in the garage who did not identify himself told a Des Moines Register reporter to leave the property.
Michele Davis had moved out of the south-side home in April, according to her father, Michael Cosner of Des Moines, who described Randy Davis, 52, as “a pretty hot-tempered guy.”
An online records search shows Davis, a Vietnam-era military veteran, with only a handful of traffic tickets.
Cosner said his daughter had asked for a restraining order against her husband of 17 years and that the couple were in the midst of a divorce when she was slain.
“The way I understand it, the day of her funeral was the day she would have signed the papers,” Cosner said Thursday. “Things had been rough for a long time, and it just kept deteriorating.”
Court officials would not confirm that a protective order had been filed. They said the information is confidential. Cosner said his daughter had left her husband once before and was dating a co-worker at TMC Transportation, a Des Moines trucking firm.
The co-worker, Matt Jorgensen of Des Moines, told The Register on Thursday that he had dated Davis since May and the two had tried to keep the relationship quiet while Davis avoided her estranged husband “as much as possible.”
“She didn’t want any confrontation; she just wanted to keep her distance,” Jorgensen said. “Everyone knew how great of a person she was.”
Cosner is “taking some time away” and preferred not to comment on today's arrest, according to Stephanie Kimbley, Michele’s Davis' sister.
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