Donald Davidson's death penalty phase began Monday after he stunned the court and his own attorneys last month when he pleaded guilty to one count of murder and rape.
The plea allows Davidson to skip what is known as the guilt phase of his trial, and to avoid a jury altogether. He must still go through the penalty phase, however, at which Circuit Judge Donald Lester will alone decide whether he receives a sentence of death or life in prison.
Davidson admitted to murdering Roseann Welsh at her Middleburg home in 2014, and kidnapping and raping her 10-year-old daughter. He was a registered sexual predator at the time and cut off his ankle monitor during the attack. Until late May, he had pleaded not guilty to all charges in the capital murder case. On May 28, however, he told his public defender he wanted to plead guilty, saying he just wanted to “get this over with.”
With a record littered with lewd behavior and aggravated battery convictions, it’s not surprising that Donald Davidson’s jail conduct wasn’t stellar.
The penalty phase continued on Tuesday, where much of the discussion focused on Davidson's upbringing and family history.
Donald Davidson walked in and sat quietly into court on Tuesday for his death penalty trial.
He sat in silence as family members recalled Davidson’s childhood.
“He’d show his butt like any other child. And say he’d want his mommy,” Davidson’s cousin said.
“Did he hit walls?” Defense attorneys asked.
“He hit walls with his head,” the cousin testified.
Davidson’s cousin noted that Davidson acted out.
By the time Davidson was ten years old, he also lived with two sex offenders who were his uncles.
Davidson’s brother, James Earl says some of their family members sexually abused the two.
“Is it true that you and Donald were molested by a female cousin Becky?” Attorneys asked.
“Yes,” Earl responded.
“How old were you?”
“8 or 9.”
“How old was Donald?
“5 or 6.”
Earl said that the two turned to each other for sex after that, because they didn’t know it was wrong at the time.
Davidson dealt with sex abuse, lived in awful home conditions, and tried committing suicide multiple times.
James Earl still supports his brother, but recognizes the heinous nature of the crimes he’s charged with.
“Do you feel guilty about your brother’s situation?”
“Yes I do. I feel bad for both sides…we are a family,” James Earl responded.
Testimony will resume at 1:30 p.m. on Monday where the defense team is expected to call their final witness.