WA - Gabriel Davies, 16, Found Safe - Then Charged With Murder, Olympia, 30 Aug 2022

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I'd like to take a moment to acknowledge the victim of this senseless and cruel act, DM.

By all accounts, DM did not invite the defendants into his home, and instead, they crawled through his doggy door. What they were doing inside his home for 45 minutes is not clear.

We also know that the defendants did not enter the garage until after DM came out of the garage and entered (stumbled into) his home. Since he was shot in the head and stabbed shortly upon entering, I don't think DM gave the skinny boys consent to pilfer his garage either.

DM was only 51, and a working man. A good chance he still had his parents that will have to bury their son -- and this alone goes against nature. :(

Shame on you GD and JY. I hope your actions haunt you for many days, weeks, and hours, ahead.

Condolences to DM's family, co-workers, friends, and especially his biker friends.
 
*Timeline:

Now, Davies and Justin Jiwoon Yoon, both 16, are jailed at Remann Hall Juvenile Detention Center in Tacoma, held in lieu of $1 million bail while they await further court proceedings. The two were automatically charged as adults in the killing of 51-year-old Daniel McCaw due to the seriousness of the offenses and their ages.
 
cvaldez1975 said:
threw it all on yoon
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I keep hearing the convo in my head.

Something like this:

Mr. D (GD's dad) -- Son, Yoon is a rat -- his dad already called TCSO and told them you're responsible for a homicide! They accused you of killing DM! Your life is over unless we can mitigate this. o_O

GD: Ok, dad. First, we really didn't steal anything. The bikers wanted me to but I didn't. I can return everything -- it's all safe, trust me. And don't worry, the biker dudes don't know where we live. They think I live in Tenino. That's why I was careful to stay away and mostly chilled in Tenino for a few days. Can you order pizza -- I'm starving. Thanks, dad. You're the best!
 
speculation: i wonder if there was some longstanding beef between GD's dad and DM? they referred to family court where GD's mom and DM had vouched for each other "for a long time". were they embroiled in court for a long time?
 
As comical and ludicrous as aspects of this case are becoming, it still makes me so angry that valuable time and resources were wasted on trying to locate this “missing” kid. I can think of 22,048 (as of today, according to NamUs) better people to focus that energy on.

I guess investigators knew more than us and were eventually and/or simultaneously searching for suspected murderers, but still.
 
The story of how two Olympia teenagers came to be charged with murder this week has been a whiplash tale, twisting from a high school student's disappearance, to relief when he was found, to shock following the same boy's arrest.

Gabriel Davies is pictured in an image provided by the Thurston County Sheriff's Office along with a photo from the scene of the murder from the Pierce County Sheriff's Department.
The capital city's community rallied around the search for Gabriel Davies after he didn't show up to football practice Aug. 31 and his truck was found abandoned. The Thurston County Sheriff's Office held a press conference, bloodhounds were sent out to follow his trail, and tips of possible sightings were called in while the FBI helped analyze cellphone data. When he was found and arrested, thousands of dollars in donations poured into a $$$ to help pay his legal fees before the fundraiser was shut down.

Partial timeline:
Wednesday, Aug. 31
  • Davies leaves his Olympia home at about 4 p.m. to attend football practice at Olympia High School, but he never arrived, The Olympian reported.
  • A property owner reports finding a vehicle sometime that afternoon in the 16100 block of Tilley Road South, west of Tenino, according to the Sheriff's Office. The Olympian reported that the teen's family didn't know he was missing until Thurston County deputies called them to ask why the vehicle was there. Inside the vehicle, blood was on the steering wheel and the driver's door panel, according to court records. Davies' phone was found smashed in the roadway.
  • About 5:30 p.m., Davies is seen walking alone, northbound on Tilley Road South toward Millersylvania State Park, according to the Sheriff's Office.
Thursday, Sept. 1
  • An Orting man is found dead in his home by Pierce County deputies after being called at about 9:30 a.m. to perform a welfare check. The man had not shown up to work for four days. Investigators found a spent shell casing near his body and a possible gunshot wound to his temple, court records say. Decomposition made identifying some wounds difficult, but a medical examiner also found defects on the man's stomach and chest believed to be stab wounds.
  • At some point in the "early stages" of the investigation, detectives learn from McCaw's work supervisor that he had previously been in a relationship with a woman later identified as the mother of Davies, records state.
  • Search-and-rescue teams spend the day combing the area between where Davies' vehicle was found and where he was seen walking toward Millersylvania State Park. The FBI, Olympia Police Department and Washington State Parks assist in the search, The Olympian reports. Bloodhound dogs are deployed to follow the teen's trail.
  • At about 10 p.m., Davies is found in the 13600 block of Tilley Road, north of where his vehicle was found. According to court records, the teen was wearing shorts but did not have on a shirt or shoes, and he didn't have any injuries that would have indicated he had been walking through the woods for the 36 hours he was missing. Davies first tells detectives he can't remember what happened to him, then later states he can't say what happened to him "because people were going to hurt him," records state.
Friday, Sept. 2
  • At some point Friday, Davies' father calls Thurston County detectives to say his son was involved in McCaw's death. The father told law enforcement that Davies was directed to steal something from McCaw's house by the man's "biker buddies," who allegedly threatened to hurt Davies if he didn't do it. Davies allegedly confided in his friend, Yoon, and the two developed a "plot" to steal the item from a safe in McCaw's home, according to court records.
  • Davies and Yoon are arrested just after 8 p.m. According to the probable cause document, Pierce County deputies served search warrants at the teen's homes, and the two are located and taken into custody.
A Missing Teen, a Murdered Man: Timeline Shows How Boy's Twisting Tale Unfolded
 
imstilla.grandma said:
The story of how two Olympia teenagers came to be charged with murder this week has been a whiplash tale, twisting from a high school student's disappearance, to relief when he was found, to shock following the same boy's arrest.

Gabriel Davies is pictured in an image provided by the Thurston County Sheriff's Office along with a photo from the scene of the murder from the Pierce County Sheriff's Department.'s Office along with a photo from the scene of the murder from the Pierce County Sheriff's Department.
The capital city's community rallied around the search for Gabriel Davies after he didn't show up to football practice Aug. 31 and his truck was found abandoned. The Thurston County Sheriff's Office held a press conference, bloodhounds were sent out to follow his trail, and tips of possible sightings were called in while the FBI helped analyze cellphone data. When he was found and arrested, thousands of dollars in donations poured into a $$$ to help pay his legal fees before the fundraiser was shut down.

Partial timeline:
Wednesday, Aug. 31
  • Davies leaves his Olympia home at about 4 p.m. to attend football practice at Olympia High School, but he never arrived, The Olympian reported.
  • A property owner reports finding a vehicle sometime that afternoon in the 16100 block of Tilley Road South, west of Tenino, according to the Sheriff's Office. The Olympian reported that the teen's family didn't know he was missing until Thurston County deputies called them to ask why the vehicle was there. Inside the vehicle, blood was on the steering wheel and the driver's door panel, according to court records. Davies' phone was found smashed in the roadway.
  • About 5:30 p.m., Davies is seen walking alone, northbound on Tilley Road South toward Millersylvania State Park, according to the Sheriff's Office.
Thursday, Sept. 1
  • An Orting man is found dead in his home by Pierce County deputies after being called at about 9:30 a.m. to perform a welfare check. The man had not shown up to work for four days. Investigators found a spent shell casing near his body and a possible gunshot wound to his temple, court records say. Decomposition made identifying some wounds difficult, but a medical examiner also found defects on the man's stomach and chest believed to be stab wounds.
  • At some point in the "early stages" of the investigation, detectives learn from McCaw's work supervisor that he had previously been in a relationship with a woman later identified as the mother of Davies, records state.
  • Search-and-rescue teams spend the day combing the area between where Davies' vehicle was found and where he was seen walking toward Millersylvania State Park. The FBI, Olympia Police Department and Washington State Parks assist in the search, The Olympian reports. Bloodhound dogs are deployed to follow the teen's trail.
  • At about 10 p.m., Davies is found in the 13600 block of Tilley Road, north of where his vehicle was found. According to court records, the teen was wearing shorts but did not have on a shirt or shoes, and he didn't have any injuries that would have indicated he had been walking through the woods for the 36 hours he was missing. Davies first tells detectives he can't remember what happened to him, then later states he can't say what happened to him "because people were going to hurt him," records state.
Friday, Sept. 2
  • At some point Friday, Davies' father calls Thurston County detectives to say his son was involved in McCaw's death. The father told law enforcement that Davies was directed to steal something from McCaw's house by the man's "biker buddies," who allegedly threatened to hurt Davies if he didn't do it. Davies allegedly confided in his friend, Yoon, and the two developed a "plot" to steal the item from a safe in McCaw's home, according to court records.
  • Davies and Yoon are arrested just after 8 p.m. According to the probable cause document, Pierce County deputies served search warrants at the teen's homes, and the two are located and taken into custody.
A Missing Teen, a Murdered Man: Timeline Shows How Boy's Twisting Tale Unfolded
Click to expand...
I actually believe the part about plotting to steal something from DM's safe. Gabe used to live there so he would likely know what was in the safe. I'm curious about what it was they were trying to steal and did these kids manage to get it? IMO
 
CharlestonGal said:
I actually believe the part about plotting to steal something from DM's safe. Gabe used to live there so he would likely know what was in the safe. I'm curious about what it was they were trying to steal and did these kids manage to get it? IMO
Click to expand...
Maybe that’s what he was doing during his disappearance. Hiding whatever it was.
 
CharlestonGal said:
I actually believe the part about plotting to steal something from DM's safe. Gabe used to live there so he would likely know what was in the safe. I'm curious about what it was they were trying to steal and did these kids manage to get it? IMO
Click to expand...
Yes. I have no doubt that these two were there to steal. I'm just wondering if murder was always the plan as well.
 
MadMcGoo said:
Maybe that’s what he was doing during his disappearance. Hiding whatever it was.
Click to expand...
I think he was hiding from the cops the whole time they were looking for him. That's certainly a plot twist you don't see every day in a missing persons search.

I don't think he still had the stolen items with him 3 days after the murder though. I recall reading he ditched the guns he stole but I didn't see anything else mentioned. I'm just trying to figure out what possibly could have been in that safe that was worth murdering someone for. IMO
 
Tippy Lynn said:
There had to be signs of things going sideways with these two young kids. I wonder what type of issues they had prior to this.
Click to expand...
I don't think they've released the backstory to any of this yet (that I have seen). But how do you commit a vicious murder on Sunday and then act normal in front of your family on Monday and Tuesday and Wednesday until 4 pm when you leave for football practice? And seemingly freak out along the way there? This whole thing is just bizarre, IMO.
 
CharlestonGal said:
I don't think they've released the backstory to any of this yet (that I have seen). But how do you commit a vicious murder on Sunday and then act normal in front of your family on Monday and Tuesday and Wednesday until 4 pm when you leave for football practice? And seemingly freak out along the way there? This whole thing is just bizarre, IMO.
Click to expand...
I can’t wrap my head around it.
 
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