A missing football player from Washington state was found safe — but subsequently arrested for murder!
16-year-old Gabriel Michael Davies went missing under what police referred to as “mysterious circumstances” last Wednesday while on his way to football practice at Olympia High School. According to Thurston County Sheriff’s Office, witnesses saw Davies enter Millersylvania State Park but lost track of him afterward. Law enforcement found his deserted vehicle with blood inside and a smashed cell phone nearby — this evidence started a manhunt to try and find the teen, but what they found no one ever expected…
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An unnamed Orting resident hadn’t shown up to work in four days when the Pierce County Police Department were called to do a welfare check. Upon arriving to the home on Thursday, they found a 51-year-old man deceased, suffering from gunshot wounds, believed to have been dead for “at least” 24 hours. Shortly after, PCPD released a statement revealing evidence collected had connected the two 16-year-olds to the crime:
“Deputies called for detectives and forensic investigators to respond to the scene. Detectives spent Thursday and Friday processing the scene and collecting evidence. Friday night our detectives had enough evidence for probable cause to arrest two suspects in this case. Just after 8 p.m. both of our suspects, two 16-year-old males, were taken into custody.”
Gabriel was charged with first-degree murder, second-degree murder, first-degree burglary and second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm. It’s unclear how the second teen connects to the crime, but both are being held at Remann Hall Juvenile Detention Center. On Thursday, just a day after the football star had gone missing, he was found safe — but by Friday he and one other teen had been arrested on suspicion for murder.
Such a scary situation to go from missing to suspected killer…
The victim has not yet been identified, but the Tacoma News Tribune reported Sunday the 51-year-old and Davies’ mother were “once a couple” — in fact, it’s been reported the mother was engaged to the victim at some point. The address where the victim was discovered was tied back to Gabriel and his mother. Apparently they had lived there with the victim for several years prior to the crime. There was also a long-running family law case and although it’s unclear what exactly the case was about, the victim and Gabriel’s mom had “filed statements in support of each other” before.
It remains unknown if the suspects have entered a plea regarding the charges and a court date is not yet known. We’ll be sure to keep you updated as this story continues to unravel.
[Image via KING 5/YouTube/Thurston County Sheriff’s Office]
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