A Death in the Stairwell | Post Mortem | Forensic Files

[Music] Welcome to Postmortem. I'm your host, An Marie Green, and today we are discussing
the case of Kevin Davis. Now, in the early morning hours of August 12th, 2023, Kevin's wife, Allison, called 911
and said that she woke up to a loud noise and she found Kevin at the bottom of the stairs. Kevin later died in the
hospital. An autopsy later revealed that he had a crushedin skull and a murder investigation was launched with Allison
becoming the primary suspect. She was charged with murder, arrested, and put on trial where she would fight to clear
her name. Joining me now is 48 hours correspondent Peter Vansent. Thanks for chatting with me today, Peter.
>> Hey, Ann Marie. Great to be here. Um, and the usual reminder before we get into it, uh, if you have not listened to
this episode of 48 Hours, head on over to your podcast feed to get the full audio. You're going to find, uh, the
full episode in your podcast feed right underneath this one. Go take a listen and then come on back. All right, here
we go, Peter, cuz this one's a little different. >> It's a doozer. >> Yeah. So, of course, at the center of
this entire episode, right, the big question, was Kevin's death an accident or was it murder? And we see sort of
very early on, uh, people interacting with Allison are interpreting her behavior differently. She's speaking to
first responders and they have very different assessments of what they're seeing. And you guys actually played
some body cam footage of that. >> That's right. And these two first responders that that are of particular
interest here, they are trained to observe anything suspicious at a crime scene as well as trying to save a life.
And so they focus on how things are said. And at the Davis house, the first two responders were standing by an
ambulance and one officer said, "She doesn't have a normal reaction for me telling her husband's critical, right?"
And the EMT said, "I think she's still in shock." That shows you the range of interpretation as you look at these
people. But having watched all of that video, there were some very odd moments. Allison apologized for wearing pajamas.
Now, the normal reaction would be, "Quick, he's in here. Quick, as fast, follow me." But she apologizes about
what she's wearing. She laughtalked with people at the scene. That struck some as
very, very odd. But a lot of the people who defend Allison's behavior say she was raised to be extremely polite and
this is how she speaks. She will always say thank you to people and whatnot. You
know, I in watching the hour, the only time that it sort of struck me as odd was that little laugh talk that we saw.
But as I listen to you kind of put it all in line for me, like list it all, what comes across to me is someone who's
a people pleaser almost that you sort of mimic the reaction that you're getting from other people and you say thank you
and you apologize for being inappropriate. Like that's how it actually comes across to me.
>> Well, you know, the laugh talk that she did. I I've covered so many hurricanes
and you'll walk up to someone and their house has been destroyed. Is this your house? and they'll go, "Yeah, yeah, this
is it. There's not much here, is there?" They they'll laugh. >> I think that's a a stress reaction in
some people that it is a involuntary uh emotion and that laugh talk occurs. That's what I was thinking about when I
watched that. And also keep in mind her friends said that later she was incredibly emotional. She was crying at
the hospital. And her dad said that Allison, she compartmentalizes because she knew she had to be calm to
help Kevin. >> And Allison's defense said that, well, if she committed a crime and had
rehearsed a story, why would she have forgotten to act sad on the police body cam video,
>> right? Um, so there were some questions about the 911 call, and I want to play
that. >> 911, what's the address for your emergency? My just there's blood everywhere and I
can't look all over. I don't know if people are dead. I >> I Okay, I can't I can't understand what
you're saying. Take a breath for me. >> I'm sorry. I'm sorry. >> What's your address?
>> Just fell down a plane. >> Okay. And what happened to your husband? >> Um he fell down the stairs just now. I
was sleeping downstairs. All I heard all of a sudden I heard a loud noise. time trying to take longer, deeper breath. I
heard a loud noise. I went, he was at the bottom of the stairs. There was blood everywhere. And I can't flip him
over. I can't wake him up. And I don't know if he's breathing or not. >> Okay. He's not responding to you at all.
>> He's not responding. And there's blood everywhere. >> Okay. I'm going to have help on the way
to you. They'll be there in just a few minutes. Okay. >> Thank you so much. >> You're welcome.
So, what was the problem with that 911 call? Because I mean, it seems normal to me.
>> I've heard, you know, hundreds of these 911 calls from local news all through my
network life. Usually, if if my wife finds me at the foot of the stairs with blood, I'm not going to tell the 911
operator a story. I was I woke up and I heard a noise and no, you'd say he's my my husband's at the is is unconscious.
He's at the bottom. get someone here as fast as you can. That tends to be the normal call. So, um the the the sudden
calm uh Detective Krueger in this thought that this was a a performance. And she also thanked the operator at the
end of the 911 call, which was rather unusual because it was a very friendly thank you. H I mean often when we've
done these stories, Peter, one of the things that sort of stands out when people are suspicious is that
they give you more details than you are asking for. >> Absolutely. When they're calm, it can be
interpreted that the person telling the story has rehearsed the story. If they are overly dramatic, then it must be a
performance. Uh you can't win on these 911 calls. And it is also important to remember people do react differently in
crisis. >> Yeah. >> By the way, during the course of this, there was a really uh surprisingly
emotional moment for us. Allison's father had not heard the 911 call and and I I turned that on. He just his head
just went right down into his hands. He all but collapsed. He started crying. I would call it even sobbing.
>> And for him, this was his daughter. This was completely genuine. And this was
heartbreaking. This was real. He did hear the change to the calmness. Okay. Okay. I've got my breath now. And and
her telling the story, but he said, "That's my daughter. That's the way she talks."
>> Just as an aside, I was so impressed by him. Um I just I thought he was sort of
the almost the MVP of that whole hour. you know, often you see moms um and so it it was good to to see a dad defending
his daughter and and I wondered how he was remaining so unemotional and and then we saw the emotion bubble over, you
know. >> Absolutely. Yeah. And uh he's someone you trust implicitly when you hear him
speak. >> Yeah. >> And and he didn't show an instant of doubt about his daughter's innocence.
>> Okay. So, after first responders arrive and police decide not to enter the upstairs bedroom and they do that
because Allison says that their pet pitbull is up there and the pitbull's a guard dog.
I still didn't understand I I understand why maybe they wouldn't want to go up there without her, but they could have
gone up there. >> Yeah, that's an obvious mistake. Uh because there could be important
evidence inside that room. She had warned him that, you know, there's a pitbull on the other side. That's
obviously a deterrent, but Allison had signed permission for them to enter the room. And she did offer to move the dog.
And Detective Krueger, because he initially, much too quickly believed that Kevin's death was an accident, he
now believes that who knows, the murder weapon might have been in that bedroom with the dog. And of course, he regrets
not going in. Yeah, I can imagine. Uh, Detective Krueger also cleared the crime scene. So, even if he might have
suspected that there was no foul play, why not at least wait till the autopsy? Um, especially since officers at the
scene seem to really question Allison's behavior and certainly the amount of blood at the scene.
>> This was an enormous blunder. Uh, there is a reason why police have crime scene
tape to seal off that crime scene. There is no hurry to give it back to a family.
You have to do your CSI work there and take the time. Um I'm working on another case right now where it was months
before the death scene was cleared by police. And Detective Krueger said the New Haven, Indiana Police Department,
you know, they're a small town outfit. They have limited resources and expertise. And Krueger said he just
didn't see the need to tie up all of their resources and hold the house uh uh for what he thought was an accident
scene. They eventually called the Indiana State Police because they have many more resources, right? But by the
time they got there, the house had already been cleared. That scene has now been contaminated and whatever they
found would have been challenged in court. So then what evidence did in investigators actually have against
Allison? >> Well, Allison told first responders, and this is important, that she and Kevin
had gotten into a fight that night. That was the word that she used. And that played into the investigator's belief
that she hit Kevin in the back of the head with an object because they think, well, if there was a fight, there was
emotion and she may have lashed out at him. Uh, no murder weapon was was ever found. And Detective Krueger pointed to
the a text that Kevin had sent his friend early in the morning about 2:34 a.m. He wrote, "Got to go to bed. The
wife." Now, you hear that, the audience hears that. I heard that. I didn't think
it was any big deal, but investigators thought, "Wow, the wife, that suggests tension inside that house." I thought
that was a bit of a stretch. Um, another text that we didn't get to in the hour,
Allison texted Kevin, "I love you." And he didn't text back. And the prosecution
brought this up in court that there may have been some tension, some problem inside, some anger inside that house.
Uh, but Allison and Kevin lived together. He knew he was going to see her later. So, you know, you get busy
and you sometimes don't answer those. I'm guilty of that. Um, and you got to be careful about confirmation bias when
you're an investigator. And once you start interpreting everything as evidence of a crime, um, you can really
get in in trouble, which I think happened in this case. >> Welcome back. On October 17th, 2023,
this is 2 months of an investigation going on. Police finally declared Kevin's death a homicide. And about 2
months later, a warrant is issued for Allison's arrest. Uh she turned herself into the Allen County Jail with her
parents. Uh so I want to ask you about that local bar that Allison and Kevin frequented. It's called the East Haven
Tavern. Uh seems like a place with a lot of regulars and you spoke to some of those. I'm curious about how Allison's
arrest affected the patrons there. I'm also curious about, you know, what they said about the
couple. >> Anybody that's ever been in a pub. Um, I used to live in England. Uh, this East
Haven Tavern was like a pub. Everybody knows everybody. It's like the old TV show Cheers. Everybody knows your name.
Uh, Allison and Kevin were regulars. Kevin big personality guy. Uh, really entertain people. He liked to argue,
debate, and things. But they they really loved him. So the people there were really shocked at what happened. And the
East Haven Tavern is in New Haven, Indiana. It's a town of roughly 15,000 people. And it's a real microcosm. But
after Allison was arrested and charged in jail, uh well, people thought, well, they must have something on her. They
wouldn't just arrest her unless they they really have a solid case. So you some of the people there um started to
drift toward that. others, you know, were saying there's just there's just no way there's just no way she could do
this. So, this is the intrigue of this case as as our investigation went forward. Allison pleaded not guilty, but
since Indiana rarely allows bail on a murder charge, she had to remain in jail for 17 months waiting for the trial. I
am curious, I mean, how did she spend her time behind bars? Uh this was uh this was really terrible. Uh she was not
allowed any in-person visits except for her attorneys. Her family not only wasn't allowed to visit in person, but
virtually like on a a FaceTime call. She wrote letters and she could make phone calls to family and friends, but she was
not allowed to see family members. Her attorneys say that in jail Allison, you know, tried to make the best of her life
there. She was leading uh workout classes and she was trying to influence people in a positive way, but that
isolation. >> Mhm. The trial is May 6th, 2025. Um I want to play a clip in the episode
from Detective Krueger as he's heading into court that day. >> I'm anxious. What's at stake today is
either Kevin Davis gets justice for what was done to him or we let a a murderer walk free.
>> So he he's, you know, clearly convinced that Allison is guilty. >> Yeah. She is innocent until proven
guilty. They didn't have a CSI moment. They didn't have an eyewitness. They didn't have a motive for certain. They
didn't have so much in this case. And to say that if she is found not guilty, she
still is, that's just wrong. That's just wrong. Uh, now keep in mind, Detective Krueger is now police chief Krueger. He
is highly respected in the community, in his profession, and he owns the mistakes
that he made in this releasing that crime scene so early. >> So, the trial was really a battle of
experts. The jury heard from Dr. Smok who testified for the prosecution and Dr. Dragovich who testified for the
defense. When a jury is faced with two experts with two totally opposing views, how how do they determine who or what
they believe or I wonder if at times they just cancel each other out? >> The prosecutors actually had three
different doctors testify and both Dr. Smok and Dr. Dragovich, they were convincing. This was a face off. It's
always dramatic when this happens because a life is hanging in the balance in this case Allison's life. We also
interviewed them and they had a lot of additional material for us about this case. Dr. Smok, the prosecution's
expert, said that Kevin's CT scan showed multiple fractures to multiple areas of
his head. And he believes that Allison wielded some sort of a weapon, a blunt object to beat Kevin that was never
found. That he didn't fall down the stairs, but he was attacked. Dr. Dragovich, who testified for the
defense, said that the injuries and that fall and all of that was was the result
of one impact to Kevin's head that led to multiple fractures. He believes that Kevin fell and his head hit the
banister, which caused Kevin's brain to ricochet inside his skull. He made a compelling case that one single impact
would not necessarily cause any open external wounds or blood marks on the banister. There weren't any cuts on his
head. We, the 48 hours people were a bit overwhelmed trying to figure all of this
out. And so we really laughed out loud when the juror that we interviewed after this case in our interview said that
they found the the expert testimony to be easy to follow and and clear. >> Really?
>> Yeah. and um they were getting it more than we were, but Dr. Dragovich explained it in ways that people could
could could follow >> and um he prevailed. >> Uh it's a 4-day trial. The jury deliberates, they deliver a verdict.
Allison Davis is not guilty. We don't cover a lot of not guilties. I I mean, in in your years of doing 48
hours, how many not guilty verdicts have you covered? >> I've had two. This is one of them.
>> Two. >> Two. That's it. There have been other cases, too, where I thought there would
be a not-uilty verdict, but uh there have only been two. And you know, one of the jurors said the prosecution's case
had holes in it. Um >> but Krueger took the loss very hard and um the Democratic thing to do would be
to accept the jury's verdict. and the lead prosecutor said, "Well, the jury has spoken and that her next best theory
would be that there was another attacker in the house." But Krueger said 100% that Allison got away with murder. Um,
and it's very rare to go on the record to say something like that. And it's unfair. This puts a little scarlet
letter on her as she goes back into society, back into life. A jury of her peers said she's not guilty. And as her
dad said, I can't believe they did this to her. It's unbelievable. Such injustice. He can't believe that they
ever charged her with homicide, kept her in isolation, and then a jury takes just
6 hours after all of that to find her not guilty. Uh, you got to go with that verdict. And in this case, I think the
jury got it right. >> Yeah. Yeah. I I mean, I felt everything that dad was saying. And another thing
that people don't kind of think about is the money that it takes to defend yourself. I mean, just being accused can
be ruinous to your life, you know. >> Um, so then that brings me cuz the one person that that we're all as a viewer
waiting to hear from in that hour is Allison. I know you guys reached out to her. Um, and clear clearly she didn't
want to be involved. >> No. Uh, she's left New Haven and is living with her parents. We did reach
out. She declined. We understand that. It wasn't long after she had been acquitted that we we put in this request
to her. Um, she not only lost a husband, uh, she was accused of murder, spent 17
months in in jail. But, uh, Allison, if you're listening out there, in my mind, and I believe in the public's mind now,
uh, you are an innocent person. And, um, I wish her all the best in life. and the
fact that her father participated. I assume that she gave her blessing and he represented her very very well.
>> Absolutely. >> Um well, Peter, thank you for participating in this podcast. This was
an unexpected ending because 48 hours doesn't always end like this. And you know, I'm I'm really happy that Allison
is rebuilding her life cuz there's a lot more life to live for her. >> All the best to you, Allison. And if you
like this episode, of course, please rate and review on Apple Podcast or Spotify.

"48 Hours" correspondents Anne-Marie Green and Peter Van Sant discuss the case of Alison Davis on "Post Mortem." Davis' husband, Kevin, was found with a fatal injury at the bottom of their stairs at home. They examine why investigators felt Alison's call to 9-1-1 seemed suspicious and the courtroom battle between two doctors' testimonies about how Kevin died.

Crime. Social justice. Impact. "48 Hours" investigates the most intriguing crime and justice cases that touch on all areas of the human experience including greed and passion. "48 Hours," which premiered in 1988, has developed a rich history of original reporting and impact journalism that has helped exonerate wrongly convicted people, caused cold cases to be reopened and solved, and along the way changed lives.

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Brief Summary

Allison Davis was acquitted of murdering her husband Kevin after a controversial trial following his suspicious death.

Key points

The Mysterious Death of Kevin Davis. Kevin Davis died under suspicious circumstances, leading to a murder investigation against his wife, Allison.
Allison's 911 Call Raises Eyebrows. Allison's behavior during the 911 call is scrutinized, raising questions about her innocence.
Trial Verdict: Not Guilty. After a tense trial, Allison Davis is found not guilty of her husband's murder.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

That's my daughter. That's the way she talks.

Allison's father reacting to the 911 call.

7:03WatchOct 18, 2025

Tension

65/ 100Some tension

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