Sumith Prasad
While Rusty Sabich starts investigating the murder of Carolyn Polhemus in Apple TV+’s legal thriller series ‘Presumed Innocent,’ he considers the possibility of the crime having a connection with Liam Reynolds and his victim Bunny Davis. Reynolds supposedly killed Bunny after hogtying her, the same way Carolyn’s dead body was found. The presence of Reynolds’ spermatozoa in Davis’ murder scene also makes it clear that he raped her before murdering her. Reynolds’ modus operandi and Davis’ identity as a prostitute can be paralleled with several killers and their victims. However, it doesn’t mean that they have exact counterparts in real life!
Liam Reynolds Bears Resemblance to a Real Life Killer
Liam Reynolds and Bunny Davis are two characters conceived by the creator, David E. Kelley. They were created to aid the narrative of ‘Presumed Innocent,’ and the killer and his victim cannot be found in Scott Turow’s source novel of the same name. Despite their fictional origin, Reynolds and Davis resemble several real-life figures. Dayton Leroy Rogers, who is also known as the Molalla Forest Murderer, hogtied several of his victims like Reynolds hogtied Bunny. The presence of the fictional killer’s spermatozoa in Davis’ murder crime scene leads us to two female hitchhikers Rogers sexually assaulted back in 1976.
The strong resemblance between Reynolds and Rogers is the identities of their victims. Like Bunny, several of Rogers’ victims were also prostitutes. According to then-Clackamas County prosecutor Scott Healy, Rogers went on “dates” with prostitutes to lead them to his torture chamber. Even though he was sentenced to death after seven of his murders became unraveled, the punishment was turned to life without parole after the state of Oregon decided against executing prisoners on death row. The unidentified Santa Rosa hitchhiker murderer is another killer who hogtied multiple victims. The 23-year-old Theresa Walsh’s body was discovered hogtied, sexually assaulted, and strangled.
The skeletal remains of an unidentified woman, who is considered one of the victims of the Santa Rosa killer, were found in a ravine in 1979. It was eventually concluded that the woman was hogtied at the time of her death. These two weren’t the only killers who shared a similar modus operandi with the fictional Reynolds. Garry Dean Artman was sentenced to life without parole for the murder of Sharon Kay Hammack, who was hogtied, in addition to getting raped, strangled, and stabbed. The Tulsa-based Tracy Price received the same sentence for killing Anthony Pietrzak, who died of “hours-long self-strangulation” after being hogtied.
Bunny Davis is Completely Fictional
Throughout the history of murders, killers have targeted prostitutes like Bunny Davis. A 2011 research revealed that 22% of serial murder victims between 1970 and 2009 in the United States were known prostitutes. The statistic only increased in the next decade, with the percentage rising to 43%. Eric Hickey, who wrote ‘Serial Murderers and Their Victims,’ stated that the killers believe that prostitutes are “easily disposed of, and they’re not going to be missed.” As per A&E, the author added, “It’s such a dangerous profession to get into. Being a prostitute increases your chance of being murdered by 200 times.”
Considering the data, Bunny represents an enormous group of prostitutes who were targeted throughout the country. Creator David E. Kelley must have made her a sex worker to make the storyline intricate. Upon realizing that Bunny was a vulnerable prostitute without anyone to care for her, Carolyn might have been immensely committed to bringing her killer to justice, which resulted in the conviction of Liam Reynolds. Her profession may also shed light on the identity of the person behind the second spermatozoa samples collected from her murder scene. Ultimately, Bunny can be seen as an archetypal victim of a terrorizing killer.
Read More: Presumed Innocent: Is the Apple TV+ Show Inspired From Reality?
