0:00

If I asked you how many subscriptions you have, would

0:02

you be able to list all of them and how

0:04

much you're paying? If you would have

0:06

asked me this question before I started using Rocket Money, I

0:08

would have said yes, but let me tell

0:10

you, I would have been so wrong. I

0:13

can't believe how many I had

0:15

and all the money I was

0:17

wasting. Rocket Money is a personal

0:19

finance app that finds and cancels

0:21

your unwanted subscriptions, monitors your spending,

0:23

and helps lower your bills. Rocket

0:26

Money has over five million users and has

0:28

helped save its members an average of $720

0:30

a year with

0:33

over 500 million in canceled

0:35

subscriptions. Stop wasting money

0:37

on things you don't use. Cancel

0:40

your unwanted subscriptions

0:42

by going to

0:45

rocketmoney.com/wondery. That's rocketmoney.com/wondery.

0:48

rocketmoney.com slash

0:50

wondery. Have

0:52

you heard? You can listen

0:55

to your gripping investigations ad-free.

0:57

Good news. With Amazon Music,

1:00

you have access to the

1:02

largest catalog of ad-free top

1:04

podcasts included with your Prime

1:07

membership. To start listening, download

1:09

the Amazon Music app or

1:12

visit amazon.com/truecrimeadfree. That's amazon.com/truecrimeadfree and

1:14

catch up on the latest

1:17

episodes without the ads. The

1:21

ruthless murder of a beloved

1:24

pediatrician stuns a Florida community.

1:27

The apartment was ransacked. Someone was looking for

1:29

something. He's submerged in a

1:31

tub full of bloody water. Investigators

1:35

follow a trail of mysterious clues

1:37

to find out what could lead

1:39

to such a violent crime.

1:42

We locate close to $20,000 in

1:44

cash. When

1:47

they would pick up the phone, the person on

1:49

the other end would immediately hang the phone up.

1:53

And detectives race against the

1:55

clock to unravel a cold-blooded

1:58

conspiracy. It was clear. that

2:00

they were concerned that they might be

2:03

being listened to. They were

2:05

saying things in layers and in

2:07

codes. He said to us, what

2:09

would happen if I told you that I sent somebody

2:11

there to beat him up? We

2:13

had a reputation for being involved with a drug

2:15

gang. He was telling her

2:18

that they can't arrest her if they can't find

2:20

her. To this day, they

2:22

still don't know exactly where he is or where he went.

2:24

They don't even know if he's still alive. They

2:30

don't even know what happened. They

2:33

don't even know what happened. They

2:36

don't even know what happened.

2:39

They don't even know what happened. January

2:42

25, 1994, St. Petersburg, Florida. Officer

2:48

L.J. Hartzig is just beginning his

2:50

shift when he gets a disturbing

2:52

call from dispatch about a body

2:55

found in a nearby apartment complex.

2:59

It was probably about 20 to 25 after 3. I

3:02

was in my cruiser getting ready to drive

3:04

to my zone that I patrol when

3:06

I heard the call come out. At

3:11

the apartment complex, Officer Hartzig is

3:13

met by a frantic young woman.

3:16

On arrival, I talked to a witness,

3:19

Patricia Denino. I speak

3:21

to her briefly. She explained

3:23

to me that the victim was in

3:25

the bathtub inside the apartment. Once

3:29

I entered the apartment, I saw that

3:31

the apartment was in disarray and just

3:33

everything was thrown about. I

3:36

went into the bathroom area. I

3:39

see the victim with his

3:41

face down, with his hands on his feet tied behind

3:43

his back with an electrical. I

3:47

see that the tub is halfway full

3:50

with water. It's muddy. All

3:53

I thought about at that time was to

3:55

preserve the privacy. Officer

4:00

Hartsig waits for detectives outside.

4:03

He gathers preliminary information from

4:05

the 911 caller Patricia Denino,

4:08

who says the victim is

4:10

her fiance, Dr. Louis Davidson.

4:15

The deceased was a doctor in

4:17

charge of the pediatrics at a

4:19

front hospital. Ms.

4:21

Denino was crying hysterically, she's upset.

4:24

It was hard to interview her. I

4:26

had to take my time and work

4:28

with her to get the information about

4:30

who this doctor was and why she

4:32

was there. 39-year-old

4:40

Louis Davidson was well known

4:43

throughout the St. Petersburg community.

4:47

He was so knowledgeable. He

4:50

was such a good mentor to

4:53

all of us nurses doing pediatrics.

4:58

The Louis considered the U.S. home. He'd

5:00

only moved to the States in 1983.

5:04

Louis was born in Jamaica, born in

5:06

Kingston. His father is a university professor,

5:09

very, very smart. He had

5:11

a very close family with his

5:13

parents and his sisters. With

5:16

his family's encouragement, Louis had

5:18

set his sights high from an

5:20

early age. He was

5:23

very gifted intellectually, and it was

5:25

destined that he'd become a doctor.

5:28

He was brilliant at it. I

5:31

feel like that was his calling and he knew it.

5:36

Though medical school rarely left time

5:38

for dating, Louis made room

5:41

in his schedule when a beautiful young

5:43

model caught his eye at a bus

5:45

stop in Jamaica. Denise Davis

5:48

was originally from Jamaica. She

5:50

was a Miss Jamaica pageant. She

5:52

was a finalist in that pageant.

5:56

Denise was an absolutely

5:58

stunning woman. And she was 22,

6:01

he was 27 when they met. She

6:05

was waiting at a bus stop, and he stopped in

6:07

his car and offered her a ride. And

6:10

I think she genuinely liked him.

6:12

She genuinely loved him. After

6:16

a short engagement, the couple tied the knot

6:19

in 1982 and

6:21

quickly moved to the States. Three

6:24

years later, their daughter Natalie was

6:26

born. They got married and they

6:28

moved to the Tampa Bay area where they

6:30

lived and had a child together. Denise

6:33

was a very caring mother,

6:36

supportive, loving. And

6:39

she was pretty much at home

6:41

with Natalie the first few years.

6:44

Dr. Davidson doted on

6:46

Natalie. He'd just glow and he

6:48

would talk about Natalie, and he loved

6:51

her very much. After

6:54

climbing the ranks in his profession,

6:56

Lewis settled into his career at

6:58

Bayfront Hospital in St. Petersburg. He

7:02

eventually became the head of the pediatrics

7:04

in the emergency room division. He

7:07

was a good man, a talented

7:09

man. He had this

7:11

kindness and this compassion for his

7:13

job and for the

7:15

people around him and his patients that he

7:18

took care of. While

7:22

his career blossomed, his relationship

7:24

with Denise began to crumble.

7:27

Approximately 1991, Denise Davidson, Dr. Davidson

7:30

separated. It was at that time

7:32

that Dr. Davidson moved out of

7:34

the residence. He

7:37

got an apartment in

7:39

St. Petersburg and she

7:41

remained in their home in Tampa

7:44

with her daughter Natalie. In

7:47

October of 1993, Lewis and Denise decided to

7:51

make their separation legal. Dr.

7:55

Davidson had developed a new relationship

7:57

with Patricia Denino. Patricia.

8:00

Dr. Danino works for Basement Hospital within

8:02

the emergency room and emergency room

8:04

pediatrics where Dr. Davidson works. So

8:06

they started off just knowing each

8:08

other from the hospital and at

8:10

this point in time they're boyfriend-girlfriend.

8:13

Lewis wasn't the only one who had

8:15

moved on. Denise Davidson

8:17

still lived in Tampa. She

8:20

developed a relationship with a gentleman

8:22

from Jamaica, a Leo Cisneros.

8:25

So Dr. Davidson and Denise Davidson were

8:27

kind of going on with their lives.

8:33

Not long after their separation,

8:35

St. Petersburg homicide detectives have

8:37

just arrived at Lewis Davidson's

8:39

apartment where his girlfriend

8:42

Patricia found him dead in

8:44

a bathtub. I

8:46

arrived just after the

8:49

initial officer on scene, Officer Hotzink,

8:51

had spoken and took the initial

8:53

statement from Patricia Danino. At

8:56

that point I arranged for Patricia Danino

8:58

to be transported to the

9:00

St. Petersburg Police Department as we

9:02

start to process our scene. I

9:08

go through the front door and I can see that obviously

9:11

the apartment was ransacked. Someone was looking

9:13

for something. In

9:15

the foyer, detectives identified their

9:17

first potential clue. We

9:21

noticed there is a hint-take, a

9:23

shoe impression on the floor.

9:28

Whether it was wet or grease or oil,

9:30

whatever may have been on the bottom of the shoe,

9:33

left an impression on that tile. It

9:36

was a certain make, a void, which

9:38

wasn't a real popular type of shoe and

9:41

it appeared to be about size nine. Detectives

9:46

also find what appears to be evidence of

9:48

a struggle. I

9:51

can see items thrown on the floor,

9:53

the cushions were off the couch. There's

9:55

a vacuum cleaner sitting here that has

9:57

the cord cut and a pair of

9:59

scissors. is laying on the ground, which

10:01

is obviously not in its

10:04

normal place. In the

10:06

bedroom, the closet door is open, and

10:08

I can see clothes and items have

10:11

been thrown onto the floor. It's

10:13

a mess inside that closet. As

10:16

I approach the bathroom, I'm

10:18

looking, and I'm seeing the wall where

10:21

there's obvious blood spout of here on the

10:23

wall. Inside

10:26

the bathroom, detectives get their first

10:28

look at the victim. He

10:31

was drowned, while tied and

10:34

blindfolded, drowned in a bathtub

10:36

full of hot water. A

10:39

vacuum cleaner cord was used to tie up

10:41

his hands, and there was

10:44

a cashmere article of clothing that

10:46

was used to tie him up as well. The

10:49

scene is extremely violent in nature. The

10:52

appearance leads me to believe that there's more than

10:55

one person involved. In

11:00

the closet of Dr. Davidson, they found

11:02

a garment bag, and in that garment

11:05

bag was a substantial amount of money.

11:09

We locate close to $20,000 in

11:11

cash, along

11:14

with Dr. Davidson's jewelry. The

11:18

items of true value were not

11:20

stolen. Instead, we have a stage

11:22

crime scene and

11:24

a dead doctor with a

11:26

very brutal type of flaw. Coming

11:32

up, investigators uncover

11:35

solutions. She

11:37

denied that she was posing for 30 pictures.

11:40

Was Dr. Davidson involved in some

11:42

kind of activity that could have brought

11:45

this type of a crime closer to

11:47

him? The first person of interest was

11:49

in that type of crowd, where he would have known

11:51

the people who were able to pull off a pillow.

12:01

St. Petersburg detectives are investigating

12:03

the vicious murder of

12:06

pediatric emergency doctor Louis

12:08

Davidson. Dr.

12:10

Davidson was hog-tied. He

12:13

was blindfolded, gagged, and

12:16

bleeding from about the head area, and

12:18

then the bathtub was filled with, at

12:21

that time, still warm water. While

12:25

CSI techs finish up their

12:27

search for additional evidence, investigators

12:29

turn to Louis' neighbors for

12:32

leads. We identify two

12:34

witnesses that observed a couple

12:36

playing with a ball around

12:39

9, 10 o'clock in the morning, just

12:41

outside the doctor's apartment in the area by the

12:44

pond. It was

12:46

a black man and a white woman, a blond-haired

12:48

woman, playing catch with

12:50

a cricket ball, which is not

12:52

something you would normally see here. They

12:56

noticed a young lady appeared to be more

12:58

of a British type of accident. Witnesses

13:02

mention after the unusual game of

13:04

catch, the man disappeared and the

13:07

woman got into a nearby car.

13:10

Here is someone that's just sitting in the apartment

13:12

complex, basically in front of

13:14

the doctor's apartment. So now we're looking

13:16

at some suspicion there. While

13:20

officers continue canvassing the neighborhood,

13:23

detectives head to the station

13:25

to conduct a formal interview

13:27

with Dr. Davidson's girlfriend, Patricia

13:29

Denino. She said she

13:31

was at work that day at Baffern

13:34

Hospital. But whether there's any involvement at

13:36

this point, we have no idea who's involved. Patricia

13:39

says she had just started her day

13:42

shift when she last spoke with Louis.

13:45

Dr. Davidson was finishing his shift around 8

13:47

a.m. And then once

13:49

he finished his shift, he had a meeting to

13:51

attend, 9 a.m. meeting for the hospital for the

13:54

pediatric section. When she

13:56

tried to call him afterwards, he was not responding

13:58

to her calls. Around

14:02

3.30, she goes to his

14:05

apartment to see why she can't reach

14:07

him all day. When

14:09

she arrives at the apartment complex, she

14:12

enters into the apartment. The door was unlocked

14:14

but closed. And

14:16

she starts to notice that the apartment's

14:18

in disarray. It's at that

14:20

point that she enters the bathroom and she

14:23

discovers Dr. Davidson in the bathroom. A

14:28

distraught Patricia says she has no

14:30

idea who could have wanted Louis

14:32

dead. But he has

14:34

been getting some strange calls lately.

14:38

Numerous hang-up calls. Sixty-six, I think, in

14:40

a matter of a few weeks. When

14:44

Dr. Davidson or Ms. Denino would pick up

14:46

the phone, the person on the other end

14:48

would immediately hang the phone up. The

14:51

detectives that sounded like someone trying to track

14:53

his movements, where he was at different times,

14:55

what he was doing. Patricia

14:58

says the most recent suspicious phone

15:00

call was just that morning. Somewhere

15:03

between 9, 10 o'clock in the morning, Patricia

15:05

Denino receives a phone call at the

15:08

hospital with someone who's looking for Dr.

15:10

Davidson. And they

15:12

asked for him. She replied

15:14

that he was not available at the time. Things

15:17

felt suspicious involving the

15:20

calls at the hospital. But

15:23

we did not know who would be connected to this

15:25

that may have committed harm

15:27

to Dr. Davidson. Detectives

15:30

ask if Louis could be

15:32

connected to anything illegal. Initially

15:35

the $20,000 in the garment bag

15:37

caused him to have some alarm.

15:40

You know, was Dr. Davidson involved

15:42

in some kind of activity that

15:44

could have brought this type of

15:46

a crime closer to him? Patricia

15:50

refutes the notion. She

15:52

is explaining to me that the doctor

15:54

would keep money in

15:56

his closet so that it would not all his money

15:59

was in the closet. the bank account

16:01

because of the divorce situation. That

16:04

was a tumultuous relationship between the two of

16:06

them. There were allegations from

16:09

her that he had abused her.

16:12

There were allegations from him that she had

16:14

posed for erotic photos. Of

16:16

course, he denied the abuse and she denied

16:18

that she was posing for dirty pictures. Patricia

16:23

says the focus of the

16:25

divorce revolved heavily around the

16:27

couple's daughter, Natalie. They

16:30

had fought very bitterly over custody

16:32

for Natalie. Denise wanted to

16:34

take Natalie with her to Jamaica and

16:37

Lewis was determined that was not going to happen. He

16:39

was not going to lose access to his daughter. After

16:45

finishing up with Patricia, detectives

16:47

called Bayfront Hospital to verify

16:49

her alibi. We

16:51

were able to determine right away Patricia Dino

16:53

had been at the hospital during the daytime

16:56

after the doctor had left from his shift.

16:59

We ruled her out as a suspect

17:02

early on. With

17:06

Patricia's whereabouts verified, detectives

17:08

make haste in locating

17:10

Denise. It's

17:12

no secret that if you have

17:14

an estranged spouse and that

17:17

person winds up dead that you're going

17:19

to be the one that is per

17:21

suspected. They met with

17:23

her at her home in Tampa and

17:26

made the notification that her

17:29

husband had been found dead. With

17:33

Denise Davidson was asked what she

17:35

was doing the morning he was

17:37

murdered. She really didn't have a

17:39

lot to report other than just

17:41

usual routine things

17:44

that she always did. She didn't go to work

17:46

that day, but she did have the care of

17:48

her daughter. She told

17:50

law enforcement they were in the middle of

17:52

a custody fight, but she said that he's

17:54

the father of her child and

17:56

that she had no reason to want to

17:59

hurt Dr. Davidson. As

18:03

a matter of routine procedure, detectives

18:05

asked Denise if she's currently involved

18:07

with anyone new. The

18:10

information that was provided to us by

18:12

Denise Davidson at the boyfriend's

18:14

name is Leonardo Cisneros. The

18:16

two had met during one of her visits

18:19

back home to Jamaica. He

18:22

seemed to become really enamored

18:24

with her. He at one

18:26

point then asked her to

18:28

marry him. Denise

18:31

was questioned about the whereabouts

18:33

of her new boyfriend, Leo

18:35

Cisneros. She indicated that he

18:37

was back in Jamaica, that he had not been

18:39

in the Tampa Bay area at

18:41

the time of Dr. Davidson was killed. Back

18:47

at the station, detectives researched Denise's

18:49

new flame. He

18:52

owned a nightclub or coned a nightclub in

18:54

Jamaica and Kingston. He had a reputation for

18:56

being involved with the drug gangs there. We

18:59

were able to determine that several years

19:01

prior, he'd been arrested during a traffic

19:03

stop in Georgia and a warrant

19:06

had now been issued for trafficking narcotics.

19:09

Between his fiance's custody

19:12

dispute and his own criminal

19:14

record, investigators feel Leo

19:16

could have both the motive

19:18

and means to kill Lewis.

19:21

He definitely was in that type of crowd where he

19:23

would have known the people who were

19:25

able to pull off such an event. So

19:28

it was the determination that I

19:30

made that our best effort at

19:32

this point would to be surveillance

19:35

on Denise Davidson, the CEO

19:38

of Denise Davidson would lead us to Leo Cisneros.

19:45

The top suspect proved to be

19:48

a slippery one. He

19:50

was there illegally and immediately fled

19:52

thereafter. And

19:54

watchful eyes soon witnessed an

19:57

unexpected twist. She

20:00

said that needs help now or she'll waste her time. The

20:09

holidays usually include hours on planes,

20:11

cars, trains, trying to be next

20:13

to you, but on this

20:16

noise canceling headphones. Mom and dad arguing

20:18

about directions in the car, air pods

20:20

in. No matter how you listen, we

20:22

have the perfect headphones on distraction. A

20:24

new season of the critically acclaimed Dr.

20:26

Depp podcast is back with a story

20:28

of miraculous cures, magic and murder. It's

20:30

never about finding your happy ending, but

20:32

the worst part is if they step

20:34

out of line or fall in love with

20:36

the wrong person, it changes the

20:39

course of history. I'm

20:41

Arisha Skidmore-Williams. And I'm Brooke Sifrin. We've

20:43

been telling the stories of the rich

20:45

and famous on the hit wondery show,

20:47

Even the Rich, and talking about the

20:49

latest celebrity news on Rich and Daily.

20:51

We're going all over the world on

20:53

our new show, Even the Royals. We'll

20:56

be diving headfirst into the lives of the

20:58

world's kings, queens, and

21:00

all the wannabes in their orbit throughout history.

21:02

Think succession meets the crown meets real life.

21:04

We're going to pull back the gilded curtain

21:07

and show how royal status might be bright

21:09

and shiny, that it comes with the expense

21:11

of, well, everything else. Like

21:14

your freedom, your privacy, and sometimes even

21:16

your head. Follow Even the Royals on

21:18

the Wondery app or wherever you get

21:20

your podcasts. Listen everywhere on January 8th,

21:23

or you can listen early and ad-free on

21:25

Wondery Plus right now. Join Wondery Plus in

21:27

the Wondery app or on Apple Podcast. It's

21:31

been 24 hours since Dr. Lewis Davidson was

21:35

found violently murdered in his

21:37

St. Petersburg apartment. The

21:40

detectives have placed his

21:42

soon-to-be ex-wife, Denise Davidson,

21:44

under continuous surveillance, hoping

21:47

to spot her shifty fiance,

21:49

Leo Cisneros. We

21:51

can't say that Denise is involved at this

21:54

point, but she

21:56

is the girlfriend to Leo Cisneros,

21:58

and he's off. first person

22:00

of interest. On

22:05

January 27th, Denise's surveillance

22:07

team calls detectives with

22:09

unexpected news. We

22:13

follow her to a bank. She

22:15

goes to an ATM machine, withdraws

22:17

some money, and we now,

22:19

we surveil her to a

22:21

Western Union money transfer facility.

22:26

She would send Western Union money orders either to

22:28

Robert Gordon in Miami or to a woman who

22:38

lived in Miami. She had

22:40

sent some money prior to the murder, about $7,500, and then

22:42

after the murder, she sent

22:45

another $7,500. So all

22:47

told, she had sent $15,000 to be a Western Union.

22:54

Let's first look into the name

22:56

Robert Gordon and find a curious

22:59

connection. Robert Gordon

23:01

was a gentleman from

23:03

Jamaica. He was

23:05

known to be an associate of

23:07

Lio Cisneros, who's Denise Davidson's boyfriend.

23:11

He did have a criminal history,

23:13

so immediately that began

23:16

to tie everybody together.

23:19

One of the last Western Unions

23:21

that was sent was by Denise

23:24

Davidson to Carol Quezon in Miami,

23:27

Florida. Though Carol

23:29

seems to have no obvious connection to

23:31

Lio or Denise, detectives

23:33

continue to monitor their

23:36

communication. We looked at

23:38

a lot of the phone calls that were being

23:40

made by Denise Davidson and phone calls to Denise

23:42

Davidson and noticed some numbers that kept repeating. One

23:45

of these numbers was to a bar in

23:47

Jamaica called Peppers. We were

23:49

able to ascertain through a lot of folks that

23:51

Lio Cisneros was a part

23:53

owner of Peppers.

24:00

Leo directly. He

24:02

was in Jamaica. He was actually at Pepper's

24:04

Bar in Kingston. I

24:06

left a phone message for him there at the

24:08

bar. He actually returned my phone

24:10

call. Leo told me

24:12

that he had troubles in the past in

24:15

the United States for drug trafficking and

24:17

that he couldn't use his real name

24:19

to travel to the country. So he

24:21

would utilize fictitious passports. And that's how

24:23

he was traveling back and forth. Not

24:27

only does Leo come clean about entering

24:29

the US illegally, but the

24:31

32-year-old also admits to being

24:33

in Florida the day of

24:36

the doctor's murder. He

24:39

felt like he would be in trouble because he was there

24:41

illegally and immediately fled

24:44

thereafter. He wanted to play

24:46

down his role as much as possible. He

24:49

did not want to be in the forefront in

24:51

the investigation. Though

24:55

Leo claims innocence in regard

24:57

to Lewis's murder, detectives suspect

25:00

the contrary. We

25:02

make the determination that we're going

25:04

to do a wiretap on Denise

25:07

Davidson's phone. Hello.

25:12

Hi, Bridget. The

25:15

calls were interesting because it was

25:17

clear that they were concerned that

25:19

they might be being listened to.

25:22

They were saying things in layers

25:24

and in code. The

25:26

conversations between Leo and Denise

25:29

would refer to, have you talked to your people

25:31

in Miami yet? Have you heard from your people?

25:35

Did you send him to my uncle? Yes. But

25:38

he said he's not there. Well, it's

25:40

there. I sent it from over two

25:42

hours ago. He just called me.

25:44

He told me he's not there. Detectives

25:49

also pulled Denise's phone records from

25:52

the day of Lewis's murder. We

25:54

were able to identify a 305 area code

25:57

phone number. being

26:00

called. It's a pager

26:02

number. On the morning that Dr.

26:05

Davidson was killed from Denise Davidson's

26:07

house, this pager was called 52

26:11

times between 9 a.m. and 1030 a.m.

26:16

Detectives find the number used

26:18

to return the pages equally

26:21

interesting. The phone

26:23

was bought and paid for by Denise Davidson. We

26:28

also found numerous phone calls

26:30

by Robert Gordon to

26:32

Denise Davidson's home number. So

26:35

law enforcement started to find a

26:37

link between this Robert Gordon and

26:39

Denise Davidson that went beyond the

26:42

mere providing money through those

26:44

western unions. When

26:46

detectives triangulate the phone's coordinates

26:48

on the day of the

26:50

murder, everything comes full circle.

26:53

It's in the area of Dr.

26:55

Davidson's office. The

27:00

locations that are done with this phone and we can

27:02

actually track it. They've

27:04

tracked it all the way across the bay

27:07

to a day's end. One

27:11

month after the murder of Dr.

27:13

Davidson, detectives head to the day's

27:16

end. They had photos of Robert

27:18

Gordon and the people who worked

27:20

there specifically remembered that Robert Gordon

27:22

stayed in a specific room at

27:24

that hotel with a white female

27:26

on the day Dr.

27:28

Davidson had been murdered. They

27:31

were able to verify the identity of

27:33

the white woman. She's the one

27:35

who registered for the room. She wrote down the name

27:37

Susan Shuler. The

27:40

front desk receptionist also identified

27:42

a second black male. She

27:45

noticed that they were very nervous. In

27:47

fact, they left in such a hurry, they

27:50

left behind some clothing. Without

27:55

hesitation, detectives collect and

27:57

examine the forgotten belongings. Inside

28:01

that bag are a pair of size 9 Voigt

28:04

sneakers and a

28:06

gray sweatshirt. The sweatshirt

28:08

has what appears to be blood spatter on the

28:10

front. The sneakers also

28:13

appear to have blood droplets on it. We

28:17

knew that that was very similar without the exact

28:19

same pattern that we had seen previously in

28:21

the little foyer area. They

28:25

had an idea but they couldn't

28:27

say definitively until they

28:29

sent it to the FBI lab that it was

28:32

a match. Investigators

28:34

hope the evidence will identify the second

28:36

male at the hotel. Awaiting

28:41

results from the crime lab, detectives

28:44

head to Miami on February 28th

28:46

to track down 31-year-old Robert Gordon.

28:51

Based on our observations, what we found,

28:53

the Western Union money, the

28:56

eyewitness that puts him at the

28:59

apartment complex the week before, we felt

29:01

we had enough so we're now looking

29:04

to arrest Robert Gordon in Miami. He

29:08

was actually on a transit bus, not

29:10

leaving the area but local transit. We

29:12

arrested him off that bus for the

29:14

first screen murder and we

29:16

transported him back to Pinellas County for

29:18

prosecution. Detectives

29:22

then head to the home of

29:24

Carol Kason, the second individual Denise

29:26

had wired money to after the

29:28

murder. They followed up

29:31

on that and went to see her and

29:33

discovered that there was another man there at

29:35

the time who gave him the

29:37

name of Tony. So

29:39

they said, well, you know, it would be helpful if

29:41

we had, you know, say hair samples from you that

29:44

would help us and maybe fingerprints. At

29:46

that time while they're talking to him,

29:49

his fingerprints are checked and

29:51

it's determined that Tony Bowens is not

29:53

his name but his name is Merle

29:55

McDonald. There was a

29:57

warrant out for him and drug charges from South Carolina.

30:00

arrested him there in Miami and put him

30:02

in the jail. As

30:06

for Carol Casein, she admits she

30:08

did obtain money on Meryl's behalf,

30:11

but strenuously denies knowing anything

30:13

about the murder. After

30:17

an alibi rules Carol out,

30:20

detectives move on to 26-year-old

30:22

Susan Shore. Susan

30:24

Shore was gone. She was a

30:27

cruise ship cocktail waitress and had shipped out for

30:29

Jamaica and when she got wind that they were

30:31

looking for her, she made sure to try and

30:33

hide. On

30:37

March 1st, detectives received word from

30:40

the FBI about the evidence

30:42

collected from the days in. We

30:45

were able to link them to

30:47

Meryl McDonald and link them to Robert

30:49

Gord. They

30:53

located blood on the Voigt sneakers.

30:55

That blood was later compared with

30:58

the DNA blood of Dr. Davidson and

31:00

they determined it was a match. Detectives

31:06

now have enough evidence

31:08

to officially charge 47-year-old

31:10

Meryl McDonald with the

31:12

murder of Louis Davidson. But

31:14

there's just one problem. He

31:17

had a drug trafficking warrant. Unfortunately,

31:20

the warrant had been invalidated,

31:22

so a day or two later they released

31:25

him from jail without notifying us. His

31:28

whereabouts were still unknown. With

31:32

Susan and Meryl on the run and

31:35

Leo in Jamaica, detectives focus

31:37

on Louis' bitter acts. We

31:40

were able to identify that on January 24th, the day before the murder, Denise Davidson used

31:42

her credit card at the Walmart behind her house in Tampa and purchased a pair of

31:44

size 9 Voigt sneakers and a grease- sweatshirt

32:00

that was of the same brand as

32:03

the one discovered in this hotel room. My

32:06

jaw just about hits the ground because

32:08

it's not very often that you have

32:10

this type of evidence. Coming

32:16

up, Denise appears

32:18

to go from suspect to

32:21

victim. She felt like

32:23

her life was endangered because of this threatening phone

32:25

call. It was a

32:27

sort of a raspy voice. A

32:30

message received at her house. You'll

32:32

be sorry, Denise. Just

32:41

over a month after the murder of

32:43

Dr. Louis Davidson, detectives

32:45

suspect the crime was

32:47

orchestrated by the victim's

32:49

estranged wife Denise Davidson

32:52

and her new man Leo

32:54

Cysmal. In a

32:57

stunning turn of events, on

32:59

February 25th, Denise contacts detectives

33:02

claiming she could be next.

33:05

She calls me and says,

33:07

Detective Salona, someone's threatening me.

33:10

She's basically trying to say, hey, these

33:12

people that killed her husband are after

33:14

her. It

33:17

was a sort of a raspy voice.

33:20

A message received at her house. You'll

33:22

be sorry, Denise. She

33:25

felt like her life was endangered because of this

33:27

threatening phone call. Little

33:32

did Denise Davidson know that at the

33:34

time that that phone call was made,

33:37

Denise Davidson was under surveillance. And

33:40

they actually witnessed Denise walk out of

33:42

the business, go to the

33:44

payphone, and then call her

33:46

own home. As

33:50

evidence continues to stack

33:52

up against Denise, detectives

33:54

continue monitoring her calls for

33:57

another week. Denise

33:59

Davidson, and her father in

34:01

Jamaica had a conversation. She

34:04

felt like the police were closing in on

34:06

her. And her father

34:08

suggested that, you know, they can't arrest

34:10

you if they can't find you. We

34:13

let surveillance know, look, just be on a

34:16

little heightened alert. And it was around

34:18

5 o'clock in the morning on March 4th

34:21

that I get the phone call from the

34:23

wire room that says, hey, surveillance

34:26

just notified us. Denise Davidson's on

34:28

the move. It looks like she's

34:30

heading towards the airport. They

34:33

follow her right to the airport, right to

34:35

the ticket counter, and stand in

34:37

line behind her as Denise

34:40

purchases a one-way ticket to

34:42

Kingston, Jamaica. I

34:46

told her she's under arrest for the murder of her

34:48

husband as the F.D.L. agent put

34:50

the handcuffs on her. She

34:53

thought she was still under the court order

34:57

that had been given

34:59

her and Louis during the

35:01

divorce proceedings not to take Natalie

35:04

out of the country. So

35:06

she made arrangements to leave Natalie

35:08

and cut out by herself. We

35:13

had detectives travel to Jamaica. Detective

35:16

DeSarro actually went to Jamaica

35:18

and interviewed Leo Cisneros himself. The

35:21

first time we went to speak to

35:23

Leo, he denied any knowledge of

35:27

involvement. One of

35:29

the interesting things that he said to us was, what

35:32

would happen if I told you that

35:34

I sent somebody there to beat him up and

35:36

they just get carried away? The

35:41

sorrow wound up, slapped cuffs on him, and

35:43

dragged him back that day from Jamaica, but

35:46

unfortunately, we just

35:48

couldn't get the warrant issued to us. Back

35:54

in the States, detectives keep plugging

35:56

away at their case, and

35:58

on March 22nd, They finally

36:00

catch a break. We

36:03

had a warrant issued for Susan Shore, and

36:06

Susan Shore was located

36:08

in Kingston, Jamaica. Kingston

36:10

police had identified her

36:12

and stopped her. Susan

36:15

Shore is immediately extradited back to

36:18

the States. In

36:20

an interview with detectives, the 26-year-old

36:23

comes clean about her role

36:25

in the crime. She

36:27

really didn't know Gordon and McDonald at all.

36:30

She had met them at the Hialeah racetrack

36:32

in Miami. She was

36:34

basically asked to drive McDonald

36:36

and Gordon up to Tampa

36:39

Bay. She maintained that

36:41

she did not know the real reason

36:43

why they were being asked to be

36:45

driven around in the St. Petersburg area.

36:51

Susan tells detectives she drove

36:53

Robert and Merrill to the

36:56

days in on the night

36:58

of January 24, 1994. She

37:00

had done it in exchange for $100. Turns

37:04

out the reason why they were doing that and

37:06

the reason for the 52 calls to

37:08

the pager were because they thought that

37:10

Lewis Davidson was going to get home

37:12

about 7 in the morning. But he'd

37:14

been held up by a meeting, so

37:17

they were kind of killing time waiting for their victims

37:19

to show up. Susan

37:23

says once Lewis arrived, Robert told her

37:26

to wait in the car. At

37:29

that point they think Gordon and McDonald rushed

37:31

him in and

37:33

then beat him up and killed him. Susan

37:40

tells detectives from there they headed back

37:42

to the days in. Once

37:45

they got to the days in, Gordon

37:47

was very agitated, was waiting for

37:49

somebody. Finally, Leo

37:51

Cisneros showed up and

37:54

Denise showed up. Two

37:57

of them talked to the two hitmen.

38:00

at some length. The

38:04

information from Susan helps detectives

38:06

finally secure an arrest warrant

38:08

for Leo. Now,

38:11

they just have to find him. We

38:14

were going back to Jamaica. We got a

38:16

warrant for Leo Cisneros to arrest him, and

38:18

he had fled the country. With

38:24

Leo on the lam, detectives turned

38:26

their attention to the other accomplice

38:28

and yet to be accounted for,

38:30

47-year-old Merle McDonald. Utilizing

38:34

phone records, in October

38:37

of 1994, we

38:39

found Merle McDonald hiding out in New York,

38:43

again using an alias. We

38:45

arrested him without any fight, and

38:48

we brought him back to Florida for

38:50

prosecution. Coming

38:53

up. As authorities try

38:55

to strengthen their case against

38:57

Denise, they uncover a slew

38:59

of secrets. When she was

39:01

booked, I believe she was about four months pregnant.

39:05

And will resurfacing allegations throw

39:07

a wrench in the state's

39:09

case at trial? She

39:11

was every battered woman

39:14

I ever worked with. Unbeknownst

39:17

to her, he had hired these two

39:19

hitmen, and it was all his doing. St.

39:29

Petersburg detectives have arrested four individuals

39:31

in connection with the brutal death

39:33

of 39-year-old Dr. Louis Davidson. So

39:39

now we had Denise Davidson, Robert

39:41

Gordon, Merle McDonald, Susan Schor, all

39:43

in custody. And the only person

39:46

we were lacking was Leo Cisneros, who

39:48

had fled Jamaica. With

39:51

Leo on the run,

39:53

authorities continue strengthening their

39:55

case against the others,

39:57

and find two substantial

39:59

motives. Denise Davidson had

40:01

notified the county jail personnel that

40:04

she was pregnant. It

40:07

turns out that it was Lea Cisneros' child, which

40:10

sort of gave an added urgency to her

40:12

wanting to move to Jamaica to be with

40:14

him. But she couldn't go

40:16

to Jamaica unless Lewis let her go with

40:18

her daughter, and he was making clear that

40:20

that wasn't going to happen. We

40:23

also found there was a life insurance policy on

40:25

the life of Dr. Davidson for $400,000. On

40:32

September 5, 1995, the

40:34

trial for Denise Davidson

40:36

gets underway. Prosecutors

40:38

assert that Denise played a

40:41

very large part in her

40:43

husband's demise. Denise

40:45

Davidson had hired the men, had paid

40:47

the men, had provided the men the

40:51

cell phones to utilize. After

40:54

the murder, Leo and Denise came to the

40:56

days in and met with Robert Borden and

40:58

with Meryl McDonald and talked to them at

41:00

some length. So that really nailed down that

41:03

Denise was very much involved in the murder.

41:09

Prosecutors surmise that on January 24, 1994,

41:11

Robert, Meryl and Susan waited around until

41:16

the doctor got home. And

41:18

then the two men attacked. The

41:22

struggle really goes on from almost

41:25

the moment that Dr. Davidson opens

41:27

the front door. We

41:29

never knew for sure exactly what it was

41:31

they used to bludgeon him with. He's

41:35

been hog-tied, his

41:37

arms and feet tied behind him with

41:39

a vacuum cleaner cord and a cashmere

41:41

belt. And

41:44

he's been submerged in this tub and

41:46

drowned. The

41:51

defense counters by placing the

41:53

blame entirely on Leo Cisneros.

41:57

Denise Davidson's defense. and

44:01

left the message, Denise, you'll be sorry?

44:04

At that point, she just kind of deflated. You

44:06

could just see the whole air going out of her. It

44:09

was at that moment that she knew that

44:11

we had her. On

44:15

September 16th, the jury finds

44:17

Denise guilty of first

44:19

degree murder. She

44:23

is sentenced to life in prison. It

44:27

was as it should be. She

44:30

should be punished. Dr.

44:32

Davidson didn't deserve any of that, and

44:35

it just left a big hole

44:37

in a lot of people's

44:39

heart and soul. Alleged

44:44

hitmen Robert Gordon and Meryl

44:47

McDonald received a more severe

44:49

punishment. Ultimately, the jury

44:51

found them guilty of first degree murder. They

44:55

were sentenced to death, and

44:59

they are still on death row.

45:02

In exchange for her testimony against the

45:05

others, Susan Shore

45:07

receives probation. We

45:09

charged her with accessory after the fact, and

45:12

she was deported back to England. Leo

45:16

Cisneros still faces a

45:18

first degree murder charge, but has

45:20

yet to be captured. To

45:23

this day, they still don't know exactly where he is or

45:25

where he went. They don't even know if he's still alive.

45:32

Denise continues to maintain her

45:35

innocence. She

45:37

has never wavered on that, and

45:40

she now believes that Leo was

45:42

the one and only responsible for

45:44

this and felt that

45:46

he intentionally let her take the

45:48

rap for him. For

45:51

those who knew Dr. Lewis

45:53

Davidson, his memory will live

45:55

on despite the tragedy of

45:57

his death. family

46:00

and those closest to

46:02

him had their heart and soul

46:04

ripped out and the world

46:07

is certainly worse off

46:09

for not having him in it. Both

46:15

of Denise's daughters were raised by her sister in

46:17

Florida. Robert Gordon and Meryl McDonald

46:19

are both housed in Florida prisons

46:21

and remain on death row. Denise

46:23

is serving her life sentence at

46:25

the Homestead Correctional Institute in Florida.

46:27

She continues to fight her teeth. Plus

46:31

the fight before Christmas when two lovers called

46:34

it quits. I can't come home this year.

46:36

I think this is about Allie because he

46:38

ripped out my heart stomps on it. Okay.

46:41

And his family surprised him with

46:43

an unwelcome gift. You're kind of

46:45

freaking out. You invited my ex

46:47

fiancee to Christmas. You know, I

46:49

really should go. You're not going

46:51

anywhere. Now streaming only on freebies.

46:53

Bring on the games. My

46:55

family will work up the courage to

46:58

leave before Christmas morning. You want to

47:00

bed? Oh, you're gone. We're

47:02

here gone. Will they fall back in

47:04

love or will it go down in flames? Does

47:06

it have to be crazy for the entire holiday?

47:09

Surrender anytime you want. Never.

47:12

They're progressively hating each other. How about that?

47:16

I think that they actually love each

47:18

other. It's quite pinky thing. Starring Leighton

47:20

Meester at Robbie Amell. Nothing for you

47:22

right here, Graham.