North Side man ordered to trial in fatal knife attack on wife
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It has been nearly a month since Helena Harris last saw her niece's husband, Joseph "Butch" Davis III, who, Ms. Harris said, stabbed to death his wife of 30 years and attacked Ms. Harris as well.
On Friday, sitting in a chair in Allegheny County Municipal Court, within 10 feet of the suspect, Ms. Harris detailed how she feared for her life on the night of Sept. 8, when Mr. Davis went into a drunken rage.
Mr. Davis is charged with the homicide of his wife, Victoria Davis, 53, as well as attempted homicide, aggravated assault in connection with the attack on Ms. Harris. He also is charged with child endangerment, because the couple's 9-year-old adopted son was present and tried to intervene in the assaults.
District Judge Linda Zucco ordered Mr. Davis to trial after she heard Ms. Harris' testimony. Mr. Davis is being held without bail, pending trial, in an incident that Ms. Harris, police and his defense attorney declare are out of character.
Ms. Harris, who is recovering from the attack, still wears a splint on her arm and right hand. She testified that Mr. Davis' behavior that night was shocking.
Having known him since they both were teenagers, Ms. Harris lived with the couple and their 9-year-old adopted son for several years at their Richey Street home in the Perry North section of the North Side.
"Vicki was more like a sister. I'm only three years older than her," Ms. Harris said of her niece. "I loved him," she added. "Not like I loved Vicki, but I loved him."
She said Mr. Davis was in a drunken rage when she was awakened from her sleep by the little boy.
Ms. Harris said Mr. Davis dragged her by the hair from her bedroom, stabbing her about the head before he flung her to the floor and began kicking her, knocking her down a flight of stairs.
She said he followed her to the landing and stabbed her on her legs, all the while shouting profanities and yelling that he hated her.
Under cross-examination by defense attorney David J. Shrager, Ms. Harris said her nephew-in-law "never acted crazy like that before. I thought we had a pretty good relationship."
"But," she testified, "Vicki used to say he couldn't drink. She'd get mad if he drank."
Ms. Harris said she escaped the house when her attacker heard Mrs. Davis gasping upstairs and he went to her room.
Ms. Harris said she staggered, stumbled and crawled out of the house and across the street to a neighbor's house, where she hid on the porch while police were summoned.
Pittsburgh police said they discovered Mr. Davis in the couple's Richey Avenue home, bleeding from stab wounds and holding a bottle of brandy, saying only that his wife "got what she deserved."
The couple's son was not assaulted, police said.
First Published October 2, 2010 12:00 am
