Sunday, February 8, 2015
Bond Convicted Of First Degree Murder In 2013 Death
On Friday, jurors returned a verdict of guilty against a local woman accused of orchestrating the murder of her ex-boyfriend in 2013.
Trial for thirty-four year old Five Points resident Rachel Kay Bond got underway Tuesday morning in Lawrence County Circuit Court. Bond was charged in connection with the May 3, 2013 death of Robert “Bob” Oscar Davis, a forty-six year old resident of Holloway Road, Five Points.
Davis went missing after leaving the home of a relative in Anderson, Alabama around 2:30 a.m. that date. The following Monday his truck was recovered after having been abandoned near Pinkney Bridge on Wisdom Road in West Point. His body was recovered from a wooded area off Bryant Boswell Road eight days following his disappearance.
A jury was seated Tuesday morning and testimony began that afternoon. The case was heard by Circuit Court Judge Stella Hargrove. Prosecutors were Assistant District Attorneys Gary Howell and Christi Thompson. Defense Attorney was Mike Harris.
Bond’s co-defendant Ricky Lee Houser, 49, of 425 Mt. Lebanon Road, opted to enter into a plea bargain agreement rather than stand trial on first degree murder and aggravated robbery charges. In conjunction with that agreement Houser testified against Bond on Thursday afternoon. The terms of the agreement dictate that Houser plead guilty to the lesser charge of second degree murder. In exchange, he will serve no more than thirty-five years imprisoned.
During opening arguments Thompson explained that, although Houser admitted that he was the one who killed Davis, Bond, “Set a plan in motion. She used and manipulated her relationship with Ricky Houser to get him to do her dirty work.”
Lawrence County Sheriff’s Department Lieutenant Nathan Neese, who was the lead investigator in the case, testified Wednesday afternoon. He said that they were able to determine that Davis’ last phone call was to Bond. Houser was at her home when they were confronted by deputies. Both were initially detained on drug charges.
Neese said Bond gave a statement indicating that Houser had beaten Davis with a baseball bat in her backyard, resulting in his death. He said that she cooperated with authorities, taking them to the vicinity where Davis’ body was later located. Bond told them that she had not participated in Davis’ murder.
Neese said that on May 11 two men discovered Davis’ body partially concealed along an ATV trail around ½ to ¾ mile from Bryant Boswell Road. Davis was found lying face down, his body partially hidden by dry leaves and green cedar saplings. Davis was clothed in boxer shorts and his right shoe. His black T-shirt was found between his legs.
During Houser’s testimony Wednesday afternoon he told the court that he and Bond had been friends for around fourteen years and had been romantically involved at times. He said that a few days before Davis’ death Bond had confided that he had “beat on her again.” He said that she had a bruise on her forehead and claimed that Davis had raped her, as well. He said that she had, “Asked him to get rid of him.” Houser said that Bond, “Had someone else to get rid of him but they backed out.”
Houser said that he went to Bond’s home four or five days prior to the murder, carrying with him some clothes, a baseball bat, and a machete. He said he stayed in a shed in the back yard lying in wait to kill Davis. He told jurors, “I knew when I went there that’s what I was supposed to do.” He said that he “was using meth pretty much the whole week.”
Houser said that he had never met Davis. He was asked why he had agreed to kill a man he did not know and explained, “Cause she (Bond) wanted me to. Rachel wanted me to…She’d say jump and I’d say how high. It’s always been that way between me and her. I’ve always loved Rachel Bond.”
Houser told jurors that he had been concerned that the aluminum baseball bat could be seen in the moonlight. He said Bond provided him with black electrical tape and sat on her bed with him while he wrapped it.
Houser said that he had been inside the house with Bond when she received the text message from Davis, indicating that he was coming over. He said that he went outside and waited and that when Davis pulled behind the house to a tool shed near the back door, he ran around the building in order to approach him from the rear of the tuck.
Houser said that Davis exited his truck attired in boxer shorts and holding a DVD player, and he “hollered at him” to get his attention. He said when he saw him, Davis lunged at him from around five feet away. “I hit him in the forehead with the bat and he fell on the ground.” He said he struck his head three to five times more. He was asked what his intention was and responded, “To kill Bob Davis.”
According to Houser, he attempted to load Davis, who was considerably larger, into his truck bed, “But I couldn’t pick him up…I tried to slide him up on a board like a ramp, tried to drag him up in there, but I couldn’t. I went inside and got her (Bond) to help me ‘cause I couldn’t do it by myself.” He said Bond got gloves for both of them, then they rolled Davis onto the board. He explained, ”I got the heavy end and she got the light end,” and they placed him into the truck bed.
Houser testified that he told Bond “to clean up the bloody spot” in the yard with a water hose and that she washed his bloody clothing. He said it was already daylight when he left Bond’s house. He drove about 100 yards before realizing there was no gas in the truck, so he went back and got $6 from Bond.
He said he drove to a market on Rabbit Trail Road and stopped for gas with Davis’ body in the truck bed. He said that Davis had still been breathing when he left Bond’s house, but was no longer breathing when he stopped for gas. He said they had thrown a sheet over the body but that it had blown off and was lying against the truck cab.
Houser left the market and drove to Bryant Boswell Road where he dumped Davis’ body and covered it with leaves. He then drove to Wisdom Road in West Point where he ditched the truck. Afterwards, he walked five hours to get back to his home. He said he stopped on Insurance Bluff long enough to hide the truck keys, empty Davis’ wallet, and toss it over the bluff. He later burned the wallet contents in his wood stove.
Houser testified that he visited Davis’ body twice. He said he went back around midnight with a shovel to bury the body, “but it was too hard to dig a hole.” Instead, he used the machete to cut down small cedar trees and placed them atop the body.
He said once he arrived home he realized that he had dropped his flashlight, so he returned with a metal detector near sunrise to retrieve it. He said when he talked to Bond she told him that she “ran the well dry” cleaning up.
Bond’s cousin came forward after Davis’ body was found, providing authorities with text messages between she and Bond. In the messages Bond told her that Davis, “Hit me, smack me just because I didn’t want to be with him…Told me I was a dope whore and my kids were bastards…I am going to do to him what should have been done a long time ago…I’ve got men taking care of it. My hands will stay clean I am makin’ sure of it. I am smarter than he thinks I am.”
Forensic Anthropologist Hugh Berryman was tasked with reconstructing Davis’ skull. He told jurors that the bones from the cranium were “highly fragmented.” Some portions of the skull, he said, were missing. He said one blow caused a fracture parallel to the teeth “knocking them loose almost like a denture.”
He said some of the fractures show that Davis “could have been on the ground when he was struck.” He identified four specific points of impact but said, “It’s very likely he was struck many more times than these four.”
Bond testified Friday morning after jurors heard from her mother and Houser’s cousin, who testified on her behalf. Bond said that she had met Davis five years ago and that their relationship consisted, “Mostly of smoking meth and having sex.”
She said the relationship was “rocky with a lot of drama” and that Davis had been physically abusive, choking and hitting her. She said their relationship was on-again-off-again and that she continued to see him because, “I loved him. He had dope and I liked the sex.”
Bond said at the time of Davis’ death she was addicted to both meth and prescription medications. She said that in April she had deputies dispatched to her home when Davis showed up, “nearly kicking the door in.” She told jurors, “I understood pretty much that he’d have to be here for them to do anything.”
She said their last altercation had been sparked by the fact that, “He’d left meth at the house and I’d smoked it all.” She said he had struck her and after he left she called Houser. “I told him he hit me and I wanted him to whoop Bob’s butt. I wanted his butt whooped. He’d been whooping on mine…Ricky was upset over the bruises and agreed to whoop his butt.”
Bond said she had no idea that Houser intended to kill Davis. She said Davis had texted her asking if she wanted to smoke meth and watch porn. She told him to come over and said Houser went outside and waited 45 minutes for him to arrive.
Bond said that she was in the bathroom when Davis pulled up. She said, “I heard a loud smack, then another. I heard Bob’s voice moaning. Then I heard more smacks and I stayed in the bathroom. A few minutes later Ricky came in and said he’d took care of it. I asked him what he had done.
He said this is what I wanted and it would be better off for me and the kids.” She said that she never left the bathroom, did not help him, did not give him money, and did not wash away the blood in the yard. She said that she did, however, wash his clothing.
Bond said that Houser came back to her house the following day. She said he got his clothes, she made him some sandwiches, and he left. While there, Bond said Houser, “Was bragging about it…he talked about him (Davis) gurgling.” Attorneys asked why she had allowed Houser to return and she said, “Look what he just done. He killed my boyfriend.” She said Houser had told her, “She was just a guilty as he was.” She said she was afraid of him, but did not call police because, “I figured it wouldn’t do any good.”
During cross examination Bond stated, “I never asked for him to kill him.” She said she had never seen the baseball bat and that she did not help cover it with tape.
The jury deliberated for an hour and forty-five minutes Friday afternoon before pronouncing Bond guilty of first degree murder. The conviction carries an automatic life sentence. Bond will be required to serve fifty-one years incarcerated through the Tennessee Department of Corrections before becoming eligible for parole.
