Sounak Sengupta
Investigation Discovery’s ‘Homicide Hunter: Lt Joe Kenda: The Cage’ chronicles the bizarre circumstances surrounding the murder of Ingrid Davis in Colorado Springs, Colorado, in June 1982. The missing murder weapon proved to be a critical piece of the puzzle that would eventually help the investigators crack the murder.
How Did Ingrid Davis Die?
On June 6, 1982, Prince Lee, 19, his elder brother, Preston III, and their mother, Shin Su, went to the western Owen Circle residence of their father, Preston Lee Jr. They had not heard from him for several days and were concerned. 48-year-old Preston was a retired air force official and retired from the military as a First Sergeant E-7 after serving many years. At the time, he worked for the postal service and lived at his residence alone after divorcing Shin Su. He had bought the house in Colorado Springs less than a year ago.
Ingrid Davis was Preston’s girlfriend. She was employed part-time at a Colorado Springs fitness club. The neighbors said she did not live at the house but visited there frequently. When Preston’s former wife and two sons arrived at his house, Prince’s older brother, Preston III, tried ringing the bell and knocking, but there was no response. When the elder son entered the home through the back door, he was shocked to find the bodies of his father, Preston Jr., and his girlfriend, Ingrid.
Police officers arrive at the scene to find Ingrid shot in the face and Preston on the bed with a wound to his head. When the EMTs started examining the injured male, they were startled to find he was still alive. Preston was transported to the nearest hospital. The medical examiner studied Ingrid’s remains to find she expired from a single-entry gunshot wound to the lower jaw. According to the autopsy report, the bullet went straight to the brain, and she died instantly. The murder weapon was determined to be a .38-caliber gun.
Who Killed Ingrid Davis?
The investigators initially thought it might be a murder-suicide since lovers were involved, but the main issue with the theory was that there was no murder weapon found at the scene. There were signs of struggle with the phone receiver lying around and things knocked off the nightstand. The officers found three newspapers by the doorstep, indicating Ingrid and Preston might have been lying there for at least three days. They also found a couple of love birds dead in their cage in the kitchen.
Though Preston survived his near-fatal injury, he was in critical condition and in no state for the police to interview him. The officers were surprised to learn Ingrid was married to Daryl Davis, then 42, and had children while he was in a relationship with Preston. Pondering if they were viewing the works of a jealous husband, the investigators paid a visit to Daryl. They interviewed him to learn he knew about the affair, and he shared a strange arrangement with Ingrid.
According to the show, Daryl and Ingrid decided not to get a divorce, and the latter helped him with raising the children and doing other household chores. In return, she went out whenever and with whomever she desired to. The officers learned Ingrid had gone out on June 3, attired in a white dress, denim jacket, and red heels – the exact clothes the police had found her body in. However, Daryl had an alibi for the night, and the police had to rule him out as a suspect.
Based on a neighbor’s allegations, the detectives also suspected Preston’s elder son, Preston III, of Ingrid’s slaying and the attempt on his father. According to the neighbor, he seemed cold and collected even after finding his father in that state. Thinking he might be angry over his father leaving his family and getting into a new relationship, the officers interviewed Preston III to learn he was attending classes at the Pikes Peak Community College on the night of June 3.
The officers interviewed Preston’s friend, Ruth French, a bartender at the Air Force NCO Club, and learned a startling fact. She had introduced Preston to Ingrid, and the two had quickly kickstarted a whirlwind romance. However, Preston was obsessed with her; he insisted she move in with him after divorcing her husband. Every time Ingrid declined, Preston allegedly got increasingly aggressive and even fired at her during one such argument at Ingrid’s place.
The police verified Ruth’s claims after they found the bullet hole behind a picture frame in Ingrid’s home. While the murder-suicide theory was again on the table, the issue of the missing murder weapon persisted. However, the officers confirmed their hypothesis when the coroner found a 2-inch .38-caliber gun alongside the body at the morgue. The handgun had slipped in unnoticed when the coroner’s helpers wrapped up the corpse and everything around.
Preston Lee Jr. Whereabouts Remain Unclear Today
With the discovery of the murder weapon, the police realized Preston Lee Jr. had shot Ingrid during a bitter argument and then turned the gun on himself. It was a miracle he survived the near-fatal injury and lying there unconscious for three days until his sons and former wife discovered him. However, Preston refused to cooperate with the authorities and invoked his right to remain silent. Preston was charged with second-degree and was allowed to plead guilty to manslaughter.
A judge sentenced him to four years in prison. According to the show, Preston had sustained a severe brain injury and suffered from long-lasting physical ailments, including epilepsy and motor skill problems. He was severely incapacitated because of the wounds to his head. He required long-term physical care at great expense, and a longer sentence would mean sentencing him to a hospital. No records of Preston are available in the public domain, and he would be in his late 80s now if still alive.
