TN TN- Father Marty Davis, 35, Episcopal Priest, Fatally shot @home, Chattanooga, 16 July 1997 *New Initiative Suspect Sketch*

[dotr]

17 years later: Chattanooga priest's murder still unsolved

Father Marty Davis, 35, was brutally killed on July 16, 1997 at his home in the 1300 block of Sunbeam Ave.

www.local3news.com

2021 rbbm.
''Father Marty Davis, 35, was brutally killed on July 16, 1997 at his home in the 1300 block of Sunbeam Ave. A neighbor discovered the popular Episcopal priest shot to death in his living room.

For years, a reward has been offered for information in the cold case, but police say leads have dried up -- leaving Davis' family, friends and former parishioners still without answers.

"I was mad. He wouldn't hurt a fly. That's the kind of nice fella' he was," said Willie Anderson, a 25-year parishioner of Thankful Memorial Episcopal Church in St. Elmo.''

''Right now, Homicide Sgt. Bill Phillips is the only person currently making up the department's cold case unit.

"That's where our movement at this point is going to come from -- somebody calling in saying, 'Hey, I don't know if you guys ever knew'," Phillips said.

Police released a composite sketch of a man years ago, and are still working to identify him. On the morning of the murder, neighbors saw a black male in his late teens or early twenties, who was roughly 6 feet tall, walk inside Davis' home and leave. Neighbors also noticed him walking around the neighborhood around the time of the murder.

Phillips believes he's the killer.

"It appears he was alive and well when that man walked in the house, and he was dead when the man left the house," Phillips said.''

''There's still a cash reward for information that helps solve the case. Police say anyone who knows anything -- even if they think it's an insignificant detail -- can call CrimeStoppers anonymously at (423) 698-3333.''

 

[dotr]

• January 3, 2008 rbbm.
• Secretary Says Hagler Tape Pointed To Marty Davis Murder
• ''The former secretary to Judge John Hagler testified Thursday afternoon that when she read a tape made by the judge she "felt a crime had been committed" and believed it related to the 1997 murder of Episcopal priest Marty Davis in Brainerd.
  Nona Rogers said Judge Hagler went to church with Mr. Davis, and she said the priest would visit the judge's office and call him on the phone.
  Ms. Rogers said, "Because of the male topic, he was the first person who came to mind."
  Ms. Rogers said after she first listened to the tape that she accidentally discovered on the back side of dictation from the judge, "I shook all over. I was just numb."

Authorities have said Judge Hagler is not a suspect in the murder of Marty Davis, but Chattanooga Police said they want to hold the Hagler tape because if anyone is ever charged in the Davis case the defense may want it for "exculpatory evidence".
Judge Hagler said after the hearing he could not comment at this time. He said he would like to at some point.

Ms. Rogers, who worked for Judge Hagler for 18 years, including three years while he was in private practice, said the judge would routinely place tapes on her desk to be typed. She said this tape had dictation about a case she had already typed on Side A. She said she turned over Side B to see if there was new material there.

She said, "That's when I discovered it. I was so upset. It was so heinous."
Police officers testified earlier that the dialogue from the judge appeared to describe a murder and torture.''

Graphic Sex Tape Judge Plagued By "Demon"

Fight To Keep Tape From Publisher; Former Secretary Testifies To Murder Fears

www.cbsnews.com

''Davis, 35, headed a gay and lesbian ministry. He was chairman of Integrity, a gay and lesbian ministry for the Episcopal Church, and a longtime board member of Chattanooga CARES, an agency that offers assistance to AIDS patients.
Rogers testified that she believes Hagler and Davis "went to church together. He (Davis) would come in the office. Because of the contents of the tape and the male subject, he was the first person that came to mind."
Police said Wednesday that Hagler, who served three terms as president of the Tennessee Trial Judges Association and heard family court cases such as divorces and child custody disputes, is not a suspect in any investigation.
Hagler has refused to say what is on the tape other than to acknowledge it contains "graphic fantasies."
The former judge contends the leak to the media about the tape should be investigated, saying the judiciary "has been the victim of a retaliatory attack."