[chris]

Background

Daniel Davis, 84, and Wilda Davis, 80, lived at 109 West Wilson Boulevard in Hagerstown, Maryland. They owned two rental properties, collected rent in cash and kept the money at home.

Russell Wayne Wagner rented from their son-in-law, Ted Monger, at 610 Chestnut Avenue, about an eight-minute walk away. Monger sometimes repaired the Davises' properties. Tenant Tina Robinette had seen Wagner accompanying him on repairs and leaving the Davises' back door. Wagner served in the Army from 1969 to 1972 and was honorably discharged as a private first class.

What happened

On Feb. 14, 1994, coworker Wayne Albright drove Wagner to Big Lots to buy work gloves. Store receipts recorded a matching type sold at 5:05 p.m.

Vivian Monger told her mother that Ted would visit that evening for potato salad. He returned home at 7:10 p.m. without it. Vivian's subsequent call went unanswered.

Virginia Davis called her parents shortly after 7 p.m. Wilda put down the phone because someone was at the door. Virginia heard Daniel say, "I know what you want. You want gas." Wilda returned to the phone and ended the call without sounding alarmed.

That evening, the Davises were tied at their wrists and ankles and stabbed to death. Daniel sustained nine stab wounds to the chest and six to the back. Wilda sustained five to the chest and four to the back.

Karen Powell Minnich testified that Wagner later bought beer at the Off Square Lounge with cash, although he usually paid in change. He told her he no longer needed to worry about money or rent because "Ted's taking care of it."

The investigation

Around 3 p.m. on Feb. 15, their great-granddaughter, Lisa Smith, found the bodies while delivering newspapers. The house had been ransacked. Drawers were pulled out, upstairs pillowcases were missing and Wilda's empty wallet lay on the kitchen table beside an empty bank envelope. Investigators found no paper currency.

Neighbor Phyllis Carpenter found a work glove at the curb that morning. Police collected it on Feb. 16. Detective William Rourke also recovered a bloody knife from a snowbank on Spruce Street after Bobby Burnett spotted it. Albright identified it as a knife previously kept in Wagner's apartment.

The FBI laboratory examined the glove and knife. The glove held a single hair and blood matching Daniel's blood type. Investigators obtained comparison samples from Wagner and others who had contacted the scene or evidence.

Albright and Minnich testified that Wagner had mentioned being asked to do something for Monger. Minnich recalled Wagner saying Monger would pay him to rob older people.

Charges and trial

Wagner was charged in 1996. His first trial ended with a hung jury; no physical or scientific evidence linked him to the scene at that trial.

Subsequent mitochondrial DNA testing could not exclude Wagner as the source of the glove hair. Eleven of 5,071 FBI database profiles matched. Judge Fred C. Wright admitted the evidence despite chain-of-custody flaws, finding the method generally accepted under the Frye-Reed standard.

Former cellmate Michael Crouse testified that Wagner admitted binding and stabbing the victims. Robert Keedy described Wagner admitting he searched upstairs for money while denying involvement in the killings. Dawn Albright testified that Wagner blamed Billy Hassenbuhler for the murders during a 2001 call. That was Wagner's claim, not an established finding against Hassenbuhler.

In August 2002, a Washington County jury convicted Wagner of premeditated murder, felony murder and burglary. He received consecutive life sentences. On Jan. 3, 2005, the Maryland Court of Special Appeals upheld the convictions and DNA evidence but vacated the redundant felony-murder sentences.

Where it stands

Wagner died of a heroin overdose in prison on Feb. 7, 2005, at 52. His sister, Karon Anderson, arranged for his ashes to be placed at Arlington National Cemetery with military honors on July 27, 2005. His parole eligibility had left him outside the existing burial ban.

The victims' son, Vernon G. Davis, campaigned for removal. A January 2006 law closed the eligibility loophole. President Bush signed legislation ordering removal on Dec. 22, 2006. Cemetery officials returned the ashes to Anderson in early January 2007.

This thread holds two PDF documents released through a public-records request to the Hagerstown City Police Department. This case was rather frustrating as none of the released records included an image of the victims or the suspect, which is odd.