MT. PLEASANT (WWJ) – A student accused of murdering his parents on a Michigan college campus will avoid trial after pleading not guilty by reason of insanity.
James Eric Davis, Jr. entered the plea Friday in 76th District Court to two counts of open murder and one count of felony firearm.
Although Davis was found competent to stand trial, a state psychiatric expert found that he was legally insane at the time of the crimes and therefore not criminally responsible, The Morning Sun reported.
Davis will undergo 60 days of evaluation and treatment at the state Center for Forensic Psychiatry before a final ruling is made. After that, the judge could order Davis committed to the center indefinitely, up to life.
Davis was arrested several hours after he allegedly shot his parents, James and Diva, in his dorm room at Central Michigan University's Campbell Hall on March 2 — prompting a lockdown of CMU buildings, Mount Pleasant schools and public buildings. Investigators say Davis used a gun that belonged to his father, a police officer in Illinois, and his roommate witnessed the murders.
Police interactions with Davis started a day before the shootings, when he came to a campus officer saying he was frightened and someone was going to kill him. After investigating his claims, which were described as vague, police deemed there was no threat and sent Davis on his way. Roughly four hours later, officers came upon Davis in the hallway of his dorm with suitcases and bags, but he seemed confused and incoherent.
"The officers approach him to say 'Hey, are you alright? What's going on? I thought you were going home tomorrow?' and Mr. Davis, again, acts in a fashion that isn't reasonable or logical," said CMU Police Chief Bill Yeagley. "He was not able to make a lot of sense."
At the request of police, Davis called his parents. Officers spoke to his mother and told her what they observed, and police say she expressed concern about possible drug use. At that point, arrangements were made for police to take Davis to the hospital for observation as his parents traveled to the university. Davis was kept at the hospital overnight and was released to his parents in the morning. From there, the family headed back to the residence hall to pack up for spring break.
At some point, Davis ended up in the parking lot as his parents were packing up belongings from his fourth floor room. A witness told police that Davis was then seen coming from the parking lot with a gun in his hand. He entered the residence hall, went up to the fourth floor, fatally shot his parents, then fled on foot, Yeagley said.
Davis was located after a 15-hour manhunt dressed in only his underwear and suffering from hypothermia. He was subsequently hospitalized for five days.
The shooting occurred on the last day of classes before a week-long break. Parents who were trying to pick up students were told instead to go to a local hotel where staff would assist them while the manhunt was ongoing.
