NC NC - Ian Davis, 18, Durham, 1 October 2002

heraldsun.com: 'Nobody is talking' about '02 murder

Durham police investigators are hoping for a break in the murder of Ian Davis.

"Basically, in this case, nobody is talking about it," Durham police Detective E.C. Baker said. "It's a tough one, but I just can't understand why nobody is talking about it."

Meanwhile, Davis' family is still struggling with their loss nearly three years after Davis died...

Davis was sleeping on the couch at a friend's townhouse at 1304 Seaton Road, Apt. T6, when someone threw a cinder block through the rear glass sliding door around 2:56 a.m. on Oct. 1, 2002.

A man with a shotgun walked through the door with two other men and ordered everyone in the townhouse to the floor.

One of Davis' friends who was sleeping in a chair never awoke, but a second friend complied with the robber's demands and got on the floor. The gunman rifled through his pockets and took receipts and $25.

Davis stayed on the couch, prompting the gunman to ask if Davis thought it was a game and fire a single shot at Davis.

"Ian got shot because he wasn't moving fast enough when they told him to get on the floor," said Baker, who was assigned to the case in February because of the pending retirement of W.L. Early, the original detective on the case.

That 12-gauge shotgun blast hit Davis in the right side at close range, killing him instantly. At that point, the suspect, and possibly three others who were standing outside, ran from the townhouse and have not been seen again.

Police believed the suspects were intent on robbing the townhouse owner because they knew he had cash and drugs...

Baker said he believes he knows the shooter's identity.

"There are a couple of suspects," he said. "The one who I think did it, or knows who did it, ? we can't get anyone to put him there. Nobody has come forward to talk about this case..."

Betty Davis said she remains skeptical that the case will ever be solved.

"I know the detectives want to solve it more than anything," she said. "Early kept a picture on his desk from the first day he came to my house.

"Unless somebody gets caught and blows the whistle on the other ones, I don't know if they will ever be caught," she added. "But somebody out there knows..."

http://www.wral.com/news/news_briefs/story/2680354/

Ian was a childhood friend.

It breaks my heart that this became a cold case.

None of his "friends" that were present would ever talk. (Let me stop here before I say mean things).

One of the "friends" slept through it??????

This is what I recall now, I'm not saying any of this is fact, just what I knew when it happened- (Parts I am sure are fact, other parts there is no telling)

He was in an apartment complex in Parkwood, which is in Durham, NC. He normally lived in Parkwood, on New Hall Road. This particular night, he was staying with friends off of Seaton Road in an apartment complex. A family friend lived across the complex and had a hard time waking up. She had to get up at 3am for a job interview. So he told his Mom he would stay there to go wake her (I do know her name, not listing it here). At 3am he got up, went over, woke her. When he returned he was sitting on the couch near the sliding glass door. There are various stories about the number of men. Two or three. There were supposedly five people in the town house, and Ian was not the one they were after. They were after someone. It was because of drugs. The sad part is, Ian was the good kid that had friends of all kinds. He was with the wrong friends at the wrong time. The above article says that he was shot immediately because he didn't get on the floor. My gut feeling, and from what I heard, is that he was taken hostage. If they were after the person we all think they were after, this wouldn't surprise me in the least. He was shot with a slug (my uncle worked on the responding FD).

As Ian's Mom said "Someone out there knows." Yes, they do. I hope it haunts them everyday. You can't have that many people in an apartment, and no one know anything.

The odd thing is, there was a VERY similar case in Wilmington, NC prior to this.

To this day, I cannot get rid of the image of him on the news when they rolled the gurney out of that apartment. I can't believe they showed it, but they did, and it's in there forever.

I hope the recent WRAL interest in the case will help. We all have ideas about it, but it is tough to prove anything. I often wonder that the people who did it are still alive themselves.

So LE got the story from the rest of the "friends" in the apartment. To me, it just seems like the best they could make up on short notice.
I hope GSR tests were performed on the "friends"....

shadowangel said:

So LE got the story from the rest of the "friends" in the apartment. To me, it just seems like the best they could make up on short notice.
I hope GSR tests were performed on the "friends"....

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There is no telling.

This is the same department from the Duke Lacrosse case...

Betty Davis
Photo by Justin Cook

Betty Davis

Betty Davis stands outside the townhouse off Seaton Road in Durham County where her son, Ian, was shot to death during a burglary. "They told him to get down, and he said 'I'm down,' and then they said 'You think this is a joke?' and they shot him in the back with a shotgun." Ian was 18 when he was murdered in October 2002, and his killers remain at large. Betty recalls dancing with Ian at her daughter's wedding about a month before his death and regrets that was their first and last dance together.

Story taken from http://www.indyweek.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A132414

I pray for resolution in this case. My heart truly goes out to Ian's mom.

shadowangel said:

So LE got the story from the rest of the "friends" in the apartment. To me, it just seems like the best they could make up on short notice.
I hope GSR tests were performed on the "friends"....

Click to expand...

ITA!! ... and what is with the one 'friend' sleeping through it?

The picture of Ian's Mom is heartbreaking and the quote about having their first and last dance together.

Hopefully one of the 'friends' will come forward with information.

Ian's Father was also named Ian M. Davis.

Although he was divorced from Ian's mother, Ian loved going to South Carolina to visit him. He owned a custom bike shop in the area. There were rumors that younger Ian was a hit due to big Ian.

Here is what I know about him, and I can't find much more, but I haven't asked-
-He lived in Murrells Inlet, SC
-He owned a custom bike shop, be it in MI or in another town around there
-He was found dead October 24,2006 in the Bahamas. They claimed suicide, which was possible, but there was foul play suspected


I want to look more in to this, and I figure I'll keep it here in little Ian's thread. It could be all linked.

Also, HUGE thanks to those of you who posted the thread and have replied to it.

zelmajane said:

Ian's Father was also named Ian M. Davis.

Although he was divorced from Ian's mother, Ian loved going to South Carolina to visit him. He owned a custom bike shop in the area. There were rumors that younger Ian was a hit due to big Ian.

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That's really interesting. What would the reason be?

JerseyGirl said:

That's really interesting. What would the reason be?

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Drugs.

But I have nothing to base this on except hearsay.

It definitely seems worth pursuing a possible link between the two.

Bumping in Ian's memory.

RIP Ian. :blowkiss:



I can't believe he's been gone six years.

I really can't believe it is still unsolved. :furious:

Six years. Unreal. :shakehead:

:cake4u::birthday_party::birthday::flashbak:

Tomorrow is Ian's birthday.

Happy birthday buddy.

Miss you.

Was this business closed after his death or did Mr. Davis have a business partner that still possibly owns it?

So, basically Big Ian was into something sketchy?

zelmajane said:

Ian's Father was also named Ian M. Davis.

Although he was divorced from Ian's mother, Ian loved going to South Carolina to visit him. He owned a custom bike shop in the area. There were rumors that younger Ian was a hit due to big Ian.

Here is what I know about him, and I can't find much more, but I haven't asked-
-He lived in Murrells Inlet, SC
-He owned a custom bike shop, be it in MI or in another town around there
-He was found dead October 24,2006 in the Bahamas. They claimed suicide, which was possible, but there was foul play suspected


I want to look more in to this, and I figure I'll keep it here in little Ian's thread. It could be all linked.

Also, HUGE thanks to those of you who posted the thread and have replied to it.

Click to expand...

He did not have a partner that I know of. I need to search SC secretary of state to look more in to that.

Honestly, it frightens me to look in to it, but one of these days I will dig deeper.

Yes, it has been surmised that he was in to something sketchy.

Hopefully the police were able to collect shell casings and such to compare to other crimes of the same pattern.

I don't think this was those people first crime committed and it won't be their last.

There seems to be alot of cases where they can't be solved and are waiting for someone to talk. I am sure eventually these people will tell on themselves in some way.

Debbie Miller said:

Hopefully the police were able to collect shell casings and such to compare to other crimes of the same pattern.

I don't think this was those people first crime committed and it won't be their last.

There seems to be alot of cases where they can't be solved and are waiting for someone to talk. I am sure eventually these people will tell on themselves in some way.

Click to expand...

Ya know, the shell casing thing made me think...

I'm big on the right to own a bear arms. I am not big on the right for any fool to be able to walk in Wal-Mart and buy them. He was shot with a shotgun. There was a lot of Wal-Mart tape discussion right after it happened, but who knows if anything happened with it. I mean who is to say it wasn't stolen in a home break in?

I hope you are right, I hope they do tell on themselves eventually.



Happy Birthday Ian!!