Durham police investigators are hoping for a break in the murder of Ian Davis.
"Basically, in this case, nobody is talking about it," Durham police Detective E.C. Baker said. "It's a tough one, but I just can't understand why nobody is talking about it."
Meanwhile, Davis' family is still struggling with their loss nearly three years after Davis died...
Davis was sleeping on the couch at a friend's townhouse at 1304 Seaton Road, Apt. T6, when someone threw a cinder block through the rear glass sliding door around 2:56 a.m. on Oct. 1, 2002.
A man with a shotgun walked through the door with two other men and ordered everyone in the townhouse to the floor.
One of Davis' friends who was sleeping in a chair never awoke, but a second friend complied with the robber's demands and got on the floor. The gunman rifled through his pockets and took receipts and $25.
Davis stayed on the couch, prompting the gunman to ask if Davis thought it was a game and fire a single shot at Davis.
"Ian got shot because he wasn't moving fast enough when they told him to get on the floor," said Baker, who was assigned to the case in February because of the pending retirement of W.L. Early, the original detective on the case.
That 12-gauge shotgun blast hit Davis in the right side at close range, killing him instantly. At that point, the suspect, and possibly three others who were standing outside, ran from the townhouse and have not been seen again.
Police believed the suspects were intent on robbing the townhouse owner because they knew he had cash and drugs...
Baker said he believes he knows the shooter's identity.
"There are a couple of suspects," he said. "The one who I think did it, or knows who did it, ? we can't get anyone to put him there. Nobody has come forward to talk about this case..."
Betty Davis said she remains skeptical that the case will ever be solved.
"I know the detectives want to solve it more than anything," she said. "Early kept a picture on his desk from the first day he came to my house.
"Unless somebody gets caught and blows the whistle on the other ones, I don't know if they will ever be caught," she added. "But somebody out there knows..."
