Evelyn Louise Davis, 16, who went by her middle name, disappeared from East Liverpool, Ohio, on June 21, 1979, after leaving her residence with a man later convicted of a triple homicide.
Around 2 p.m. on June 21, 1979, Louise was sunbathing in her family’s backyard when 21-year-old Robert Wooten approached her. He was the husband of Louise’s friend, Darla, who had been out of town. Wooten told Louise that Darla returned and asked if she wanted to see his wife. Louise was excited to see her friend and willingly left with Wooten. Louise’s mother gave Louise a 10 p.m. curfew. She never saw her daughter again.
The following day, Louise’s father, Lester Ray Davis, and her sister, Rachel, ran into Wooten while running errands and asked him where Louise was.
“She ran away. Don’t wait for her to come back,” Wooten said. However, Louise left her makeup, toothbrush, and $500 cash in her purse at home.
Lester and Rachel contacted the Liverpool Township Police Department later that day, and the police investigation began. Witnesses reported seeing Louise with a man at the Stop and Go store on Pennsylvania Avenue, later confirmed by detectives. That man was Wooten.
Triple Homicide
On June 26, 1979, at 10:40 a.m., Wooten, along with Robert “Bobby” Davis and his son James Davis, 14, found Bobby’s daughter Debora Kay “Debbie” Davis and her two small children, son Jesse Clay, 5, and daughter Billie Jo, 3, bludgeoned to death in their home at West Eighth Street and Woodland Avenue. Debbie’s other son, who was a year old, was found alive and unharmed in his crib in her bedroom.
The male trio went to the home when Bobby’s calls to his daughter went unanswered. Wooten’s wife, Darla, was Debbie’s sister, and Debbie was also friends with Louise. Investigators questioned Debbie regarding Louise’s disappearance two days after the teen vanished. Debbie initially denied knowing her but ultimately admitted they were friends. She claimed she had no idea where Louise was.
Debbie was found partially clad and lying face up on the floor near her bed. She wore no pants, only a blue and white striped garment on her upper body and stockings on her legs.
The bed looked as if someone had laid on it, but the covers were not pulled back, indicating Debbie had not slept in her bed, and the assailant attacked her as she prepared for sleep.
Investigators initially thought the murders occurred between 11:30 and 11:45 p.m. on June 25, when Debbie’s babysitter confirmed the time Debbie returned home after a night out. However, autopsies determined the killings occurred between midnight and 1 a.m. and that the killer used a “bludgeon-type weapon.” Debbie also “had an altercation with her assailant.” The victims’ cause of death was multiple fractures in the head and face, in addition to various cuts and bruises.
Wooten ultimately admitted to killing all three and was sentenced to three life terms in prison, where he remains today. He claimed Debbie spurned his sexual advances and began hitting him and kicking him in the groin. Out of anger, Wooten grabbed a bar from the kitchen and beat Debbie with it. Jesse and Billi Jo walked in and would not stop crying, so he bludgeoned the children, too.
Did Robert Wooten Kill Evelyn Louise Davis?
The triple homicide of Debbie Taylor and her children occurred only five days after Louise disappeared. Investigators questioned Wooten in Lousie’s disappearance, but he denied harming her.
In June 1980, the county prosecutor received an anonymous typed letter accusing Wooten of killing Louise. The author gave the locations where Wooten allegedly hid Louise’s clothes and body. The location of her clothes could be found at Wooten’s residence in the 1700 block of Alpha Street.
Detectives searched Wooten’s home and combed through the basement. There, they found a brown bag tucked away in the corner rafters of the room. The bag contained a bikini bottom, a small tank top, and a pair of jeans.
Detective William Devon: “Right at that moment, I knew she was dead, and I was positive who did it.
“The jeans really stuck out in my mind,” Devon recalled, “because they had some sort of red design on the pockets. I remembered from reports that the jeans Louise Davis was wearing had a red design. Her parents later identified the clothes, but I already knew they were hers. My God, I knew.”
Police subsequently used bloodhounds around the home and nearby woods. The dogs kept going to a specific area straight up and over the hill, but excavation of the area did not produce Louise’s body or clues to her fate.
On July 4, 1980, Devin spoke to Wooten in prison for over eight hours. Wooten admitted he knew Louise but denied any involvement in her disappearance. Wooten said he would meet with Devin again in a couple of weeks. A few days before their meeting, Devin received a call from the prison that Wooten did not want to see him and that the meeting would be useless.
Aftermath
Desperate for answers regarding what happened to Louise, Rachel and their cousin Barb Davis contacted the psychic Sylvia Brown, who was in New York taping a segment for the Montel Williams Show in January 1997. The women met with Brown and, as typical of the “psychic,” told them what allegedly happened to Louise.
Brown said Louise was buried in a wooded area in the East End and later gave a detailed description of where the killer disposed of her body. According to Brown, the site was on a hill, and Louise was in a deep hole, possibly a well, covered by railroad ties. Brown also revealed that Louise spoke with a lisp caused by a bike accident injury to her mouth, which allegedly was not known to the public. Brown told Barb and Rachel that the killer beat Louise to death and that he had an accomplice. (Waight)
Barb and Rachel, on their own, followed Brown’s directions and discovered railroad ties piled over a filled-in hole on a hill. They removed the ties and discovered water seeping upward. (Waight)
They immediately went to Sheriff Richard Koffel, but he refused to excavate the area then. However, he did not rule out a possible future excavation. Koffel said he sent an aide from the state Bureau of Mining to inspect the site. The aide reported no old caves or wells underground. The wet spot the girls found had no opening or shaft underneath it.
In October 1997, the property owner permitted the Davis family to dig. It is unclear whether the family excavated, but they never found Louise or any clues to what happened. Her parents are now deceased.
Wooten remains in prison and continues to deny any involvement in Louise’s disappearance.
About Evelyn Louise Davis
Evelyn Louise Davis was born on July 29, 1962, and grew up in East Liverpool. She and Rachel were very close, and Louise took care of her. Rachel told Dateline that her sister was “very outgoing,” loved animals and riding horses. “She was just a very sweet person. And she loved her family and friends so much,” said Rachel.
Barb and Louise were six months apart but were close and often hung out together.
Barb and Rachel continue searching for answers to Louise’s disappearance.
Investigating Agency: Liverpool Township Police Department, (330) 385-5564.
Sources
Good, Meaghan. “Evelyn Louise Davis.” The Charley Project. https://charleyproject.org/case/evelyn-louise-davis
Muir, Juliet. “Family Still Searching for Louise Davis on 39th Anniversary of her Disappearance.” NBC News, July 1, 2018. https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/cold-case-spotlight/family-still-searching-louise-davis-39th-anniversary-her-disappearance-n888056
Waight, Glenn H. “Another Trio Murdered.” Retrieved from http://www.eastliverpoolhistoricalsociety.org/Louisedavis.htm
Waight, Glenn H. “Louise Davis Missing Girl Killed?” Retrieved from http://www.eastliverpoolhistoricalsociety.org/Louisedavis.htm
