Kevin Davis was found bleeding at the base of a steep stairway in his New Haven, Indiana, home on Aug. 12, 2023, and rushed to Parkview Regional Medical Center in critical condition.
New Haven Police Department officers Garrett Shanebrook and Cade Hetrick responded to the scene. Lead Detective James Krueger observed a significant amount of blood throughout the home.
Alison Davis, Kevin's wife, granted Detective Krueger permission to search their rented house. She warned officers about their pit bull mix, Willow, describing her as a guard dog that sometimes growled at strangers in the bedroom.
Krueger initially treated the incident as an accident, stating, "maybe he took a head plant down the stairs," and cleared the scene.
Alison went to Parkview Regional Medical Center. Her father, Steve Krause, watched her attempt to revive Kevin and noted she had blood on her fingernails, cuticles, and phone. Kasey Klemm, another observer, said Alison appeared to be in shock and crying in a waiting room with a chaplain.
After Alison remained at the hospital, Steve Krause undertook the cleanup of the bloody scene with permission from Krueger, describing the process as "very upsetting." He also tended to Willow, who had been left upstairs in the bedroom with the door closed.
On Oct. 17, 2023—two months after the incident—New Haven Police declared Kevin Davis's death a homicide, reversing the initial accident assessment.
Detective Krueger observed a shift in Alison Davis's demeanor following the declaration. She "went completely silent" and stopped cooperating with the investigation, he said.
Approximately two months after the homicide declaration, an arrest warrant was issued charging Alison Davis with murder. Steve Krause confirmed the family found the charge "unbelievable" and retained a criminal defense team in Indianapolis.
The case, featured on "48 Hours," detailed police theory that a dog may have been used in an attempt to conceal a murder weapon.
