Richard William Davis (November 7, 1941 – August 24, 2012) was an American child murderer, rapist, and possible

serial killer A serial killer (also called a serial murderer) is a person who murders three or more people,An offender can be anyone: * * * * * (This source only requires two people) with the killings taking place over a significant period of time in separat ...

who was posthumously linked via

DNA Deoxyribonucleic acid (; DNA) is a polymer composed of two polynucleotide chains that coil around each other to form a double helix. The polymer carries genetic instructions for the development, functioning, growth and reproduction of al ...

to the abduction and murder of 5-year-old Siobhan McGuinness, who was found raped and stabbed near Turah, Montana, on February 7, 1974. Davis had never been convicted or considered a suspect in any violent crime during his lifetime. He died of natural causes in 2012. In the aftermath of his identification, he was additionally linked to an attempted kidnapping in

Bath, New York Bath is a town in Steuben County, New York, United States, with an area of 96.3 square miles (249 km2) and a population of 11,426 in 2020. Its largest settlement is the Village of Bath, which has an area of 2.9 sq mi (7.5 km2) and a ...

, in 1973. Due to the fact that he traveled extensively around the country, multiple state agencies and the

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

are currently investigating whether Davis can be linked to other violent crimes committed around the country.

Murder of Siobhan McGuinness

Disappearance and murder

In the early morning hours of February 5, 1974, 5-year-old Siobhan McGuinness went missing from her neighborhood in

Missoula Missoula ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Missoula County, Montana, Missoula County, Montana, United States. It is located along the Clark Fork River near its confluence with the Bitterroot River, Bitterroot and Blackfoot River (Montana), ...

while en route to her home. On that same day, another young girl had reported that a stranger had attempted to lure her into a shed and molest her, but she managed to flee unharmed.

K-9 unit A police dog, also known as a K-9 (phonemic abbreviation of canine), is a dog that is trained to assist police and other law enforcement officers. Their duties may include searching for drugs and explosives, locating missing people, finding ...

s and volunteers organized a search to hopefully find McGuinness alive. Her father, Stephen, drew a

facial composite A facial composite is a graphical representation of one or more eyewitnesses' memories of a face, as recorded by a composite artist. Facial composites are used mainly by police in their investigation of (usually serious) crimes. These images a ...

of the stranger based on the unnamed girl's testimony, which depicted him as a Caucasian male with curly red hair, a medium build, approximately 5'11, and around 18–20 years old. Three days later, McGuinness' body was found hidden in a highway culvert outside the city of Turah. The body was sent for an autopsy in Great Falls. Eventually, an autopsy concluded that McGuinness had been sexually assaulted, stabbed, and repeatedly beaten on the head.

Cold case

Local residents organized a reward fund of $7,000 for any information that could lead to an arrest in the case. An unnamed 15-year-old youth was detained as a suspect in the case due to the fact that he owned a

Cadillac Cadillac Motor Car Division, or simply Cadillac (), is the luxury vehicle division (business), division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM). Its major markets are the United States, Canada and China; Cadillac models are ...

with

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

license plates, which police believed was driven by the perpetrator. After being subjected to a psychiatric evaluation and an interview, during which he was given

truth serum "Truth serum" is a colloquial name for any of a range of psychoactive drugs used in an effort to obtain information from subjects who are unable or unwilling to provide it otherwise. These include ethanol, scopolamine, 3-quinuclidinyl benzilate ...

, the youth's alibi was confirmed and he was officially exonerated as a suspect in the case. The case quickly went

cold Cold is the presence of low temperature, especially in the atmosphere. In common usage, cold is often a subjectivity, subjective perception. A lower bound to temperature is absolute zero, defined as 0.00K on the Kelvin scale, an absolute t ...

. Over the following decades, the McGuinness case became a notorious unsolved murder in the state. Other cases from the surrounding area were solved and proven to be unrelated, including the murder of Donna Pounds and the abduction-killing of Susan Jaeger.

Identification and investigation

In 2018,

genetic genealogy Genetic genealogy is the use of genealogical DNA tests, i.e., DNA profiling and DNA testing, in combination with traditional genealogical methods, to infer genetic relationships between individuals. This application of genetics came to be use ...

helped with the identification of the

Golden State Killer Joseph James DeAngelo Jr. (born November 8, 1945) is an American serial killer known as the Golden State Killer, the Original Night Stalker, and the East Area Rapist, who committed at least 13 murders and numerous rapes and burglaries ...

, bringing more attention to the method as a means for solving cold cases. As DNA had been preserved in the McGuinness case, the Missoula County Sheriff's Office, BODE Technology, and the FBI contacted

Othram Othram (also Othram Inc.) is an American corporation specializing in forensic genetic genealogy to resolve unsolved murders, disappearances, and identification of unidentified decedents or murder victims (colloquially known as John Does and Jan ...

to develop a genetic profile of the suspected perpetrator. On October 26, 2020, the killer was officially identified as Richard William Davis, who had passed away from natural causes at his home in

Cabot, Arkansas Cabot is the largest city in Lonoke County, Arkansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population of the city was 23,776, and in 2019 the population was an estimated 26,352, ranking it as the state's 19th largest city, behind Jackso ...

, on August 24, 2012. At the time of the crime, Davis was 32. It is believed he was just passing through the state. Shortly after this announcement, he was additionally identified as the prime suspect in an attempted abduction of an 8-year-old girl from

, in 1973. Davis, a native of Galeton, Pennsylvania, was born on November 7, 1941. He had never been suspected or convicted of any violent crime throughout his lifetime, and at the time of his death, he was a

born-again To be born again, or to experience the new birth, is a phrase, particularly in evangelical Christianity, that refers to a "spiritual rebirth", or a regeneration of the human spirit. In contrast to one's physical birth, being "born again" is d ...

Christian who lived with his wife at their rural home in Cabot, Arkansas. He lived in Pennsylvania in the early 1960s before moving to several cities in

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state, state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Dakota people, Dakota Sioux ...

during the end of the decade. After living in Bath, New York, for some time, he moved to

North Little Rock North Little Rock (often abbreviated "NLR") is a city in Pulaski County, Arkansas, United States. Located on the north side of the Arkansas River, it is the twin city of Little Rock. In the late nineteenth century, it was annexed by Little Ro ...

until the 1980s, whereupon he moved to Cabot. Until his death, he was a volunteer for the

Big Brothers Big Sisters of America Big Brothers Big Sisters of America is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization whose mission is to "create and support one-to-one mentoring relationships that ignite the power and promise of youth". Adult volunteers are matched with children from ag ...

program. Davis held various jobs and traveled around the country, including the states of

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

, Montana,

North Dakota North Dakota ( ) is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota people, Dakota and Sioux peoples. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minneso ...

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

, and

Wyoming Wyoming ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States, Western United States. It borders Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho t ...

. Due to this, the FBI suspects that he is possibly responsible for further murders and assaults committed across the country, and is looking for information that could possibly link him to such cases.

References

External links