Sounak Sengupta
Investigation Discovery’s ‘Dead of Night: Back From the Dead’ features rape survivor Windy Davis as she narrates the heinous crimes against her in Baltimore, Maryland, on a late night in April 2003. However, the brave woman surpassed all hurdles and came forward with vital information that helped the police to capture the perpetrator guilty of raping and killing two more women. So who is Windy, and what is her story? Let’s find out.
Who is Windy Davis?
Baltimore Police Department received a 911 call on April 13, 2003, at around 1:20 AM, stating a maintenance crew had found a woman lying unconscious in Leakin Park, off 900 block of Roberts Avenue in Baltimore, Maryland. According to Sergeant Kelvin Sewell of the Baltimore City Police Department, the young woman was brutally strangled, raped, her ears almost chewed off, and dumped about 50 feet from the road. The victim had passed out from the pain, but the perpetrator had mistaken her to be dead and left.
Fortunately, a nearby maintenance crew found the injured woman and notified the authorities, thus saving her life. The emergency respondents found a credit card on her and identified her as Windy (or Wendy) Davis, then 26. The victim was rushed to a nearby hospital and fell into a coma. The investigators used a rape kit and secured DNA from a vaginal swab. As they ran the DNA through CODIS, officers patrolling the nearby neighborhoods interviewed passersby, hoping to get some clues.
However, the authorities couldn’t get a hit on the national database. The case eventually turned cold, with Windy in a coma and not in the state to talk, and no other potential leads. In less than a year, the police had two more brutal crimes around the same neighborhood with an eerily similar modus operandi. Unfortunately, the suspected serial rapist did not leave his victims alive. The detectives obtained DNA samples from the women, 15-year-old Antiona (or Antania) Mills and Emma O’Hearn, 25, which matched with the DNA sample collected from Windy.
The serial rapist went underground for more than four years, after which the police found four more women sexually assaulted and strangled to death in Baltimore. The four cases were almost identical to the three cases four years ago, and the authorities were worried that the serial rapist was back. News reporter Luke Broadwater recounted on the show how he and his colleagues at the Baltimore Examiner published a detailed investigative series on the killing spree. As the city was engulfed in a veil of fear, one citizen was compelled to stand up and come forward with information – Windy Davis.
Where is Windy Davis Now?
Windy heartbreakingly shared on the episode that she had to undergo multiple therapy sessions and reconstructive surgeries to recover over the years. Breaking into tears, she revealed how she had to learn to walk, talk, and perform all other basic activities from scratch again. Windy stated she had flagged down a Nissan 300ZX for a ride on April 13, 2003, and agreed to get into the car after seeing a familiar face from her neighborhood. But the individual took her to Leakin Park, where he choked her, raped her, and nearly severed her ears from her head.
As Windy was giving her statement, the police finally had a hit on the CODIS – William Vincent Brown, a bus driver and a father of four. According to police sources, his DNA was recently entered into the national database after being arrested in 2008 in a neighboring county on minor drug charges. Windy took the stand against William in his March 2011 trial, confronting him and stating, “I just want you to know, I’m not afraid of you. I’m not scared of you. I’m not even angry at you no more. I’m just praying for you.”
William entered an Alford plea in March 2011 in the murder cases, acknowledging that the state had enough evidence to convict him. The court sentenced him to life in prison with all but 50 years suspended. As per reports, William is now serving his sentence behind bars. According to Windy’s social media profile, she presently resides in New York and is in a relationship. Nevertheless, given the sensitive nature of the crime, we have abstained from providing other personal information.
Read More: Emma O’Hearn and Antania Mills Murders: Where is William Vincent Brown Now?
