In the late hours of a summer night in Little Rock, Arkansas, a devastating house fire on South Spring Street would reveal a grim and violent secret. On August 29, 2014, emergency responders, after extinguishing the blaze, discovered the bodies of 41-year-old David Murphy and 29-year-old Charity Hall inside the charred remains of the residence. The initial belief that the two had perished in the fire was quickly dispelled by the county coroner.
Subsequent autopsies uncovered a more
sinister cause of death; both Murphy and Hall had sustained fatal gunshot wounds. This discovery immediately shifted the focus of the investigation from a tragic accident to a double homicide. The Little Rock Police Department began to piece together the events leading up to the fire, which they now understood was set to conceal the murders. The bodies, it was noted, had suffered burn injuries, but the underlying cause of death was the gunfire that preceded the flames.
The investigation soon zeroed in on a primary suspect: Ray C. Davis Jr., who was 31 or 32 years old at the time and also known by the moniker 'Ray Deuce.' It was reported that Davis had been living with David Murphy but had been recently kicked out of the home due to allegations of theft. This conflict provided a potential motive for the heinous crime. Authorities swiftly issued two capital murder warrants for Davis's arrest, launching a manhunt for the suspected killer.
The search for Ray C. Davis Jr. extended beyond the borders of Arkansas. On October 6, 2014, he was located and apprehended in San Antonio, Texas. Following his capture, Davis was extradited back to Arkansas to face the charges brought against him in connection with the deaths of David Murphy and Charity Hall. The arrest brought a sense of progress for the grieving families who had been anxiously awaiting a break in the case.
