Date: 09-04-2024

Case Style:

State of Iowa v. Gregory Michael Davis

Case Number: 23-0764

Judge: Sean McParland

Court: District Court, Linn County, Iowa

Plaintiff's Attorney: Linn County Iowa County Attorney's Office

Defendant's Attorney:

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Description:

Cedar Rapids, Iowa murder in the second degree criminal defense lawyer represented the Defendant.

Gregory Daivs was charged with murder in the second degree for stabbing Carrie Davis to death.


In September 2017, Greg and Carrie were living together in Marion, Iowa, at a 14th Street address. They used methamphetamine together on a regular basis. On September 28, Greg's mother Kathy visited, asking Greg to enter treatment for his mental health and substance use, and he declined. That night, Greg and Carrie used a significant amount of methamphetamine and got into an argument. Greg stabbed Carrie twenty-six times, in a variety of deep and shallow cuts.

The next day, Greg called Kathy and said Carrie was "gone" without any explanation. Greg visited his parents for supper the next evening, and they did not discuss Carrie because a grandchild was also present. On October 1, Greg drove to his parents' house in his truck hauling an open trailer with a rolled-up carpet in it. Kathy asked him if Carrie was in the trailer, and Greg admitted she was. Kathy did not call the police; she did call an attorney. Greg later drove to another of his parents' properties, the Hillview house, and left the trailer with Carrie's body in it in the carport. The next day, Kathy called a non-emergency police number and

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requested a welfare check at the Hillview house for Carrie. The officer responding to the request found Carrie's body in a roll of carpet on the trailer at the Hillview house. Carrie's credit cards were in pieces on the driveway in front of the trailer. Greg was found at his parents' house and arrested. Greg had Carrie's identification in his wallet; police found pill bottles in his pocket with what appeared to be over-the-counter medicines but no obvious controlled substances or paraphernalia on him, and he did not appear impaired. When she was found, Carrie wore three shirts (a tank top, t-shirt, and sweatshirt), each of which had multiple holes, but only the inner two shirts showed significant amounts of blood.

At the 14th Street house, criminalists discovered a mattress had been lain over a bloodstain on the living room carpet; blood had transferred to the bottom of the mattress. A pair of overalls and a jacket in the laundry room had blood stains on them matching Carrie's DNA, and the washer had a load in it. It is unclear how much clean up Greg did following Carrie's death because the criminalists did not use tests to check for cleaned-up blood, a mop and bucket found at the scene were not tested, no methamphetamine or drug paraphernalia were found, and police did not find blood on any of the knives found at the scene and in Greg's truck.

The police located Greg's pickup at his parents' house. They found a bag in his truck toolbox containing a sweatshirt with significant bloodstains on both sides of one shoulder and arm, a second shirt with blood-soaked areas around the wrists, and shorts with scattered bloodstains on them; DNA profiles could be developed for the sweatshirt and shorts, which matched Carrie, but no DNA could be profiled from the second shirt.

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This appeal follows Greg's second trial for Carrie's death.[2] For his second trial, Greg filed a notice of intent to present defenses of insanity and diminished responsibility. Greg waived his right to a jury in his second trial, and the matter was tried to the bench. Much of the trial evidence relevant to this appeal consisted of various expert testimonies, which will be described in the analysis section for purposes of clarity.

Outcome: After a seven-day trial, the court rendered its verdict from the bench and then filed its written findings of fact, conclusions of law, and verdict. The court denied Greg's motion for directed verdict, decided the defense of diminished responsibility applied and the defense of insanity did not, and found Greg guilty of second-degree murder.

Affirmed

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