Richard Allen Davis

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American homicide; arraigned on eight felony counts for the kidnapping and murder of 12-year-old Polly Klass. She was snatched from her bedroom at knife point after a slumber party on 10/01/1993 where he tied up two other girls. He was booked on suspicion on 12/06/1993. The girl's body was found 12/04/1993 in a shallow grave just south of Cloverdale, CA. He had strangled and buried her. Burly, heavily tattooed, Davis was a parolee with two kidnapping convictions and a long criminal record. He was the third of five kids, the son of an alcoholic truck driver with a marginal employment record. The household was place of fighting and drinking; his parents divorced when he was nine. He was a rotten kid from childhood, dousing cats with gas and setting them on fire and using dogs for knife-throwing practice. He made many moves with a record of truancy and trouble making through a variety of schools. David dropped out of school to join the army where he discovered heroin within a year. From 1969 to 1974, he took jobs as menial labor, pumping gas, utility man, lumber yard. He had frequent changes of job due to starting fights and petty theft. In 1973, David was jailed for being drunk, resisting arrest, possession of marijuana, theft and burglary, with six months in jail. He found jail boring with no drugs and not enough room to move around. In August 1975 he was picked up again and given a six-year sentence, from which he was paroled in a year. On 9/24/1976, he heard a voice asking what would it be like to be raped? He attempted his first rape but the girl got away and he was put in jail in Pleasanton, where he tried to hang himself. He was moved to Napa State Hospital December 1976. In May 1977 he was given one-to-twenty five years for kidnapping. He was released in March 1982 after serving five years. After meeting Sue Edwards, he found a companion with whom to play "Bonnie and Clyde." They conducted small time hold-ups, pistol whipped people, robbed a bank and restaurant, another bank and a yogurt shop. Picked up March 1985, he was given 16 years in state prison. This time he found drugs easier to get in jail so he was able to continue his habit. Davis was paroled again on 6/27/1993 with $200 cash and no job skills. He established legal residence in Redwood City, CA. In November, he got a pass to visit the northern end of the state, Ukiah. He never returned but skipped parole. In Petaluma, on the night that he snatched Polly, he was loaded with drugs and said he did not know why he did it. After the crime, with Polly still alive and in the car, he swerved and went into a ditch. The police stopped to help him. Later, when the report came in of Polly's kidnapping, they remembered the car and picked him up, but it was too late. The jury handed down the death penalty for the murder of Polly Klass on 8/05/1996, c. 3:10 PM PDT, San Jose, CA. Link to Wikipedia biography