Sounak Sengupta
Investigation Discovery’s ‘Obsession: Dark Desires: Garden of Evil’ narrates how Finnis Davis II got obsessed with a single mother in Fort Worth, Texas, in the early 2010s and continued to harass her in various ways. As she ignored all his advances and started to see other people, Davis got jealous and it culminated in a tragic incident involving several individuals.
Who is Finnis Davis II?
Finnis Davis II owned a landscaping business in Fort Worth in Tarrant County, Texas. He met Saudi Taylor in a local bar and offered to buy her and her friends a drink. He took a liking to Saudi and tried to persuade her to take his business card and number. He even offered to do her lawn, but she politely turned down the offer, stating she already had someone taking care of it. Davis went on cajoling her to take his contact until he finally wore her down and made her take it.
According to the show, Saudi’s regular gardener suffered from a freak accident in the following weeks and had to be admitted to the hospital. With him not being able to tend her lawn for weeks, she started to freak out since the city officers periodically visited their neighborhoods. She did not want to pay a heft fine because of her unruly lawn and contacted Davis when she happened to find his card in her purse. Saudi recounted how Davis did a fine job but started asking her out every day.
Over the next few weeks, Saudi and Davis became friends as he regularly started coming over to tend her lawns. While seeming friendly and jolly, he was very persuasive and kept on asking her out until she finally agreed to go out for drinks with him around two months later. However, Saudi recounted how she felt uncomfortable the moment she entered the bar, alleging his eyes never seemed to leave her alone. During the drive home, she explained to Davis she was not looking for a relationship and thought he seemed to understand.
However, Davis kept bombarding her with texts for the next few weeks until she was tired and called him, asking him to stop. Saudi recounted how he acted defensively, making it seem to her to be the wrong person for not reciprocating the same feelings. As she started ignoring him, he left a bottle of wine at her doorstep or drove by her home at night. When Saudi tried to talk to her co-workers about it, they laughed it off and asked her not to take it too seriously.
However, the consensus changed when Davis left a note on her car, and her friends and colleagues urged Saudi to notify the police. But the authorities could not help her much, and neither she could take out a restraining order since Davis did not invade her home or physically harm or abuse her in any form. She had stopped employing him as her gardener and tried to stop all modes of communication with him.
Where is Finnis Davis II Now?
On May 3, 2010, Saudi went on a first date with a guy named Oscar Roney, and they were returning home. She started receiving texts from Davis, indicating he knew about the date, and was very upset. When she returned home with Oscar, she was terrified to spot Davis’ car in her driveway. She urged Oscar to not stop and keep on driving as Davis started following the couple around the block. As Oscar pulled out in front of Saudi’s home the second time, Davis rammed his car into the former’s vehicle.
Davis began shooting at the couple as he swerved his car in front of Oscar’s, blocking their way and stopping them from escaping. As he shot at them, he hit Saudi in her thigh and Oscar in his left ear. Saudi tried to flee from the scene, but Davis chased her on foot, caught up with her, and pistol-whipped her, yelling he was going to kill them. She recounted on the episode it was a miracle she was still alive, having no idea why Davis left the scene without harming them further.
Saudi and Oscar managed to survive the almost-fatal shootout, while Davis was arrested by Tarrant County Sheriff’s Department. He went to trial in mid-April 2012, and the prosecution presented evidence about his disturbing obsession with Saudi. According to court records, Davis had texted her 163 times in the 48 hours leading up to the shooting. He was unruly towards his attorneys, the jury, and the judge during the trial and had to be removed several times.
After being outfitted with a shock belt around his leg, Davis was led into the courtroom to hear his sentence. According to court records, the jury had deliberated just 18 minutes before convicting him of attempted capital murder in the shooting of Saudi and Oscar. The court handed him a prison sentence of 50 years, and presently the 52-year-old is incarcerated at the James V. Allred Unit in Wichita Falls, Texas. His inmate records state he will be eligible for parole in May 2035, while his projected release date is in May 2060.
Read More: Where are Survivors Saudi Taylor and Oscar Roney Now?
