KVEO-TV

Prosecutors rest case for William Davis to be sentenced to death

TYLER, Texas (KETK) – Tuesday was the fourth day of the sentencing phase for William Davis, the former nurse convicted of murder. The day ended with the prosecution resting their case.

The prosecution ended their questioning with four family members of Davis’ victims.

Jeff Greenway, the brother of Christopher Greenway was the first to talk.

Greenway explained how he had to tell his father of his brother’s passing.

“While there are many memories, what I felt was taken are future memories because he’s not there,” Greenway said.

Steve Lafferty who was the son of John Lafferty said he was upset. He said when you leave someone at the hospital you are putting your trust in the staff that your family member will be taken care of.

“When the shoe is on the other foot, you feel helpless,” Lafferty said. “There was nothing I could do, nobody I could call, no favors I could pull.”

Lafferty was looking to retire before his father’s death, but he said there was just too much to do now.

Tiffany Farmacka, the daughter of Ronald Clark said she lost her brother due to the grief he faced from losing their father. Farmacka also said her mother wasn’t the same anymore.

“My mom is just a shell of what she was,” Farmacka shared.

She said on the stand she felt that William Davis killed her entire her family, not just her dad.

Janet Kalina, the wife of Joseph Kalina, was the last one to take the stand. She spoke about the loss of her husband. Kalina’s husband was her other half and now he is gone. She said she misses him everyday and that there will never be another Joey.

“My companion is gone, he was my other half,” Kalina said.

On Wednesday the defense still has witnesses to call, but it is possible the case will go to the jury.

11:35 a.m.

Her testimony is over. The prosecution has now rested their case for William Davis to be sentenced to death.

Judge Jackson has sent the court into the lunch break and will start back up at 1 p.m.

11:26 A.M.

Farmacka’s testimony is done with no defense questions. Next is Janet Kalina, wife of Joseph Kalina. She says her “companion is gone… He was my other half.” They were married for 37 years.

11:20 a.m.

His testimony is over with no questions from defense.

Now up is Tiffany Farmacka, daughter of Ronald Clark. She said her father’s death destroyed her brother and “he turned to the bottle.”

She said on the stand she felt that William Davis killed her entire her family, not just her dad.

11:17 a.m.

Lafferty contacted Tyler PD in 2018 after he heard the news of Davis’ arrest and asked them to look into his father’s death to see if it was natural. It’s been over 3.5 years and he says “it’s the nightmare that will not end.

11:06 a.m.

Steve Lafferty, through tears, explains what the loss of his dad means to the family farm.”I spend almost every weekend at the farm. I worked on the tractors. I can’t do everything. I’ve considered retiring from work. But I’ve got young kids so I can’t.”

10:58 a.m.

Jeffrey Greenway had to make the decision to pull his younger brother off life support.Said it was the hardest decision of his life.

His testimony is over. The next to testify is Steve Lafferty, the son of John Lafferty another victim in the case.

10:51 a.m.

Next to testify is Jeffrey Greenway, older brother of Christopher Greenway.

10:28 a.m.

Defense attorney brings up testimony by Bryant from Dameon Mosely trial back in 2019 when he said that the charge that someone comes in with does not determine whether they will committ violence. His testimony is over. 15-minute break.

10:20 a.m.

Bryant confirms the defense’s questions that visitation will be limited at any custody level if there are disciplinary problems.

He also says that commissary privileges can be temporarily removed if problems persist.

10:04 a.m.

9:58 a.m.

Defense is asking questions that those with life without parole sentences will still face a heavy amount of security while they are behind bars.

They also state that an inmate’s classification level is not an indication of whether someone will commit violence.

9:45 a.m.

Bryant’s testimony for the prosecution is now done. The defense now asking questions.

9:33 a.m.

Bryant now talking about the life of a death row inmate. In a cell by themselves 22 hours a day and recreation in a caged-off area by themselves.

There is much more stringent searching by guards for an inmate to be moved from their cell to another area.

9:27 a.m.

Bryant now testifying on the disciplinary process for inmates if they’re accused of harming another inmate or guard.

9:21 a.m.

After nearly 20 minutes of testimony on life inside prison for an inmate with a life w/o parole inmate, Bryan is now testifying on different contraband that can be smuggled into jails.

9:05 a.m.

Bryant says that life without parole inmates are put up with a cellmate, a unit with 80-100 inmates and participate in outdoor recreation and indoor dining with them. They are able to walk freely during that time.

8:55 a.m.

ADA Chris Gatewood questioning Bryant on the difference between housing inmates with sentence of life in prison without parole vs. death row inmates.

8:50 a.m.

Dr. Crum is done with his testimony. No questions from the defense.

Next up is Stephen Bryant, the Regional Director of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. He oversees 13 prisons, including Polunksy Unit in Hunstville which houses death row inmates.

8:45 a.m.

Dr. Crum says the scans of the victims’ brains were nearly all exactly the same. He stated you can “basically copy and paste them.”

8:35 a.m.

Judge Austin Jackson calls the court to order and brings in the jury. The first witness called is Dr. Charles Crum.

He prepared MRI images of victims who had air injected into their arterial lines.

Original Story

TYLER, Texas (KETK) – Smith County prosecutors are expected to rest their case for the death penalty for former CHRISTUS nurse William Davis on Tuesday after two incriminating phone calls he made from jail following last week’s verdict was played for the jury.

Davis was convicted of capital murder last Tuesday after a three-week trial showed he killed several patients in the cardiovascular ICU following heart surgery. Despite the lengthy trial, the jury took less than one hour to deliberate.

The sentencing phase has been ongoing since last week and Friday provided several emotional moments as living victims of Davis testified about the intense physical and mental struggles they have had to overcome the last four years.

Then, prosecutors played two phone calls that Davis made from jail just hours after the guilty verdict was handed down: One to his ex-wife and the second to his brother.

His ex-wife demanded to know if anything the prosecution presented at the trial was in fact true. Davis spent several minutes dodging the question and tried to direct her back to whether he would be able to see their two children while he was locked away.

After further pressing from her, Davis finally claimed that the deaths were accidental and that he had wanted to prolong patients’ stay in the ICU so he could pick up extra shifts due to their financial troubles. She called his acts “evil” and that he was “going to hell.”

She asked, “Of all the ways to make extra money, why would your mind go there?”

He replied, “I don’t know why.”

In a call to his brother, they both blasted the jury for not deliberating long enough and said none of them were qualified. The remorse he presented to his ex-wife was nearly non-existent in the conversation with his brother.

The last quote from the call played by the prosecution was Davis saying he would rather get “life in prison so I can go out on God’s timing.” Davis’ defense team had zero questions for the victims that testified or the investigator that played the phone calls.

They will be able to call witnesses on his behalf once the prosecution rests. It’s unclear as of this writing who they will bring to the stand.

Once both sides conclude, the jury will be asked the following two questions:

A “yes” answer to Question One and a “no” answer to Question Two must be unanimous to have a death sentence be imposed by 114th District Court Judge Austin Jackson.

If the jury is unable to reach an answer to either question, Jackson would be required to hand down a sentence of life without parole.