US News
Indiana police investigate wife as suspect following husband's death initially ruled an accident
Authorities launched a murder investigation into Alison Davis after an ER doctor and autopsy disputed initial reports that Kevin Davis died from a stair fall.
The short version
- Police in New Haven, Indiana, named 33-year-old Alison Davis as a suspect in the death of her 40-year-old husband, Kevin Davis.
- Investigators originally treated the incident as an accidental fall down the stairs and released the scene, allowing family members to clean up the blood before launching a homicide probe.
- An emergency room physician and a subsequent autopsy concluded Kevin's skull was crushed from a violent beating rather than a fall.
- Alison Davis and her supporters deny involvement, while police have executed search warrants to collect evidence including cellphones.
Key facts
- Kevin Davis, 40, was found severely injured near a stairway in his New Haven, Indiana home on August 12, 2023, and died at Parkview Regional Medical Center after being removed from life support.[CBS News]
- New Haven Police Department lead Detective James Krueger initially deemed the incident an accidental stair fall and cleared the scene.[CBS News]
- With permission from Detective Krueger, Alison Davis's father, Steve Krause, cleaned up the blood at the base of the stairs before police determined a crime may have occurred.[CBS News]
- An emergency room doctor at Parkview Regional Medical Center alerted the coroner after finding multiple skull fractures, facial bruising, and internal wounds inconsistent with a stair fall.[CBS News]
- An autopsy performed three days after the incident revealed Kevin Davis's skull had been crushed in a manner consistent with a violent physical beating.[CBS News]
- Following the autopsy, police designated Alison Davis as a primary suspect and executed search warrants to search the home and confiscate cellphones.[CBS News]
What remains uncertain
- It remains unconfirmed whether evidence was destroyed or altered when family members cleaned the blood after police prematurely released the scene.[CBS News]