True Crime Stories.

Zachary Davis.

Zachary Davis was born the 27th of July 1997. When Davis was 15-years-old he murdered his mother, Melanie Davis, with a sledgehammer on the 10th of August 2012. 

The family involved 15-year-old Zachary, 46-year-old Melanie, and 16-year-old Josh. The father of Zachary, Chris Davis, died from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) when Zachary was just 10-years-old, after the event he fell into a deep depression. Within just a few months, Zachary would be sent for psychiatric treatment where he confessed to very frequently hear voices. It was clear he was suffering from some form of mental illness but Zachary's case closed Melanie stopped bringing him to his appointments. 

At approximately 9pm on the night of the murder, Melanie went to bed as usual. When both his mother and brother was asleep he went into his mother's room. He was armed with a sledgehammer that he retrieved from his basement. He hit his mother over the head, bludgeoning her repeatedly. The medical examiner would later conclude that Melanie suffered at least eight blows to the head, but there are conflicting reports about how many times he hit her in the range of at least 8-20 times.

Davis left the bedroom locking the door behind him. He proceeded to pour gasoline and whiskey over the house and set it alight before fleeing the house, leaving his dead mother and sleeping brother in the house. Thankfully the fire alarm went off, waking Josh as he ran to a neighbouring house for help.

Approximately five hours later, a Sumner County Sheriff's Office deputy found Zachary, walking along a road roughly five miles from his home. Zachary was taken in for questioning without incident and quickly confessed to the murder. Sheriff Sonny Weatherford reported that when he confessed he had a malevolent smirk on his face.

 Zachary was being tried as an adult and was pleading not guilty by reason of insanity. Davis' defence lawyer stated the jury would see a taped confession, declaring even though he committed the murder, he was not guilty, as he has untreated mental illnesses and shouldn't be held accountable for his actions.

Davis believed his late father had told him to kill his mother. Assistant District Attorney Tara Wylie refuted these claims when she pointed out that Zachary had not mentioned hearing his father's voice until after his first hearing at juvenile court. His previous psychiatrist Dr. Freeman announced to the jury that he had diagnosed Zachary with schizophrenia, adding that due to this disorder, he could not form the necessary thought process which was needed in order to commit first degree murder. "His judgement was driven by his psychosis. That's what I believe prevents him from premeditating this crime." 

Another psychiatrist who had interviewed Davis 30 times since his arrest agreed with the diagnoses of schizophrenia, also diagnosing him with depression. She told the jury, " "I've never encountered someone so severely detached from his emotions."

Throughout the trial, Zachary frequently manically laughed at inappropriate times. On the third day of the trial, Zachary took to the stand to testify on his own behalf and said something that nobody – including his attorney – expected to hear: "I didn't do it, I took the fall for my brother. I didn't do it. He killed her with a sledgehammer," Zachary told the shocked courtroom. When Zachary's defence lawyer, Randy Lucas, reminded him that there was a hand-written confession as well as a taped confession, Zachary replied- "I didn't kill her..."

The prosecution had argued that regardless of mental illness, Zachary had meticulously planned his attack. Davis wrote plans in his diary in the days leading up the murder. In addition,  Davis had left the house with a packed bag that he had prepared earlier and threw his cell phone into a ditch so that police could not trace it. This is a clear indication of premeditation.

The jury was presented Zachary's diary, which was found in his backpack when he was brought in for the murder, an entry dating the 10th of August (the same day as the murder) claimed that "I [Zachary] was raped by him [Josh] that day, and I've been planning to kill him ever since." Following the murder, he wrote another journal entry which read: "I killed Melanie and left Josh alone to suffer... I didn't feel anything... I didn't feel remorse... My only true regret was that I didn't give her a faster death. I didn't want her to suffer." These claims were heavily investigated and no evidence were found to back up Zachary's claim of rape.

In his confession tape Zachary states : "I was worried that I'd miss," adding that the sledgehammer gave him the "highest chance of killing her." When asked by the detective if he could go back in time, would he still carry out the brutal murder in which he replied- "I would probably kill Josh with a sledgehammer too."

After a four day trial, the jury sided with the prosecution. Davis was sentenced to life imprisonment, plus 20 years for the attempted murder of Josh Davis, adding a total of 71 years. 3 years after sentences, when Davis was 17, he was interviewed by Dr Phillip C. McGraw speaking in a low, monotone voice about the murder, often nodding in a rhythmic pattern and laughing to himself.