48 Hours - Murder in the Mansion - Encore

Episode Date: January 21, 2018

It was one of the most notorious cases in Texas history.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Wondery Plus subscribers can listen to this podcast ad-free right now. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app today. Even if you love the thrill of true crime stories as much as I do, there are times when you want to mix it up. And that's where Audible comes in, with all the genres you love and new ones to discover. Explore thousands of audiobooks, podcasts, and originals, with more added all the time. thousands of audiobooks, podcasts, and originals, with more added all the time. Listening to Audible can lead to positive change in your mood, your habits,

and even your overall well-being. And you can enjoy Audible anytime, while doing household chores, exercising, commuting, you name it. There's more to imagine when you listen. Sign up for a free 30-day Audible trial and your first audiobook is free. Visit audible.ca. In 2014, Laura Heavlin was in her home in Tennessee when she received a call from California. Her daughter, Erin Corwin, was missing. The young wife of a Marine had moved to the California desert

to a remote base near Joshua Tree National Park. They have to alert the military. And when they do, the NCIS gets involved. From CBS Studios and CBS News, this is 48 Hours NCIS. Listen to 48 Hours NCIS ad-free starting October 29th on Amazon Music. This is a case that involves wealth, sex, vengeance, murder. vengeance, murder. It's a notorious case. It's a case that will never die. The 70s was a time of big oil and big money.

People did things in a big way, and you had big personalities. Priscilla was 5'2", feisty little blonde. She had big hair, big bosom, and packed a Texas-sized personality in that little frame. Cullen was a very self-assured man. He inherited his daddy's oil money, and then he made his own. When Cullen and Priscilla got together, it was really like the perfect storm. It was great until it wasn't. And when it went bad, it went really bad.

Cullen and Priscilla were embroiled in a nasty divorce, almost a legendary divorce. Cullen gets evicted from his own home, basically. This was his beloved mansion. This was his own design. And he was displaced from his own castle. He was furious. After a night on the town, Priscilla and some friends came home to the mansion. They walked into an ambush. A gunman dressed entirely in black opened fire. When it was over, Priscilla and a friend were wounded, and two of the most important people in her life were dead. Priscilla told the police the shooter was Cullen Davis.

He was the wealthiest man in the United States to ever be charged with murder. His worth was estimated at about $500 million. I don't think we can underestimate the effect that his wealth had. You always have something to work with when you have an innocent man. Cullen bought the best lawyer there was, Racehorse Haynes, the best that money could buy. I'm Kristy Jack. I was a prosecutor in this town for more than 20 years before I switched sides. The defense was ABC, anybody but Cullen. Any man that entered Priscilla's life, any man that darkened the doors of the mansion, was a viable suspect.

People have talked about this case for 40 years, and they're not going to stop. Did you know that the movie Candyman was partly inspired by an actual murder? Listen to Candyman, the true story behind the bathroom mirror murder, early and ad-free on Wondery Plus and the Wondery app. Hot shot Australian attorney Nicola Gaba was born into legal royalty. Her specialty? Representing some of the city's most infamous gangland criminals. However, while Nicola held the underworld's darkest secrets,

the most dangerous secret was her own. She's going to all the major groups within Melbourne's underworld, and she's informing on them all. I'm Marcia Clark, host of the new podcast, Informants Lawyer X. In my long career in criminal justice as a prosecutor and defense attorney, I've seen some crazy cases. And this one belongs right at the top of the list. She was addicted to the game she had created. She just didn't know how to stop. Now, through dramatic interviews and access,

I'll reveal the truth behind one of the world's most shocking legal scandals. Listen to Informant's Lawyer X exclusively on Wondery Plus. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. And listen to more Exhibit C true crime shows early and ad-free right now. We wanted to see where it happened, that infamous crime. Former Fort Worth prosecutor Jack Strickland took us. This building right here, Jack, this is the scene of the crime? Yes. Two people murdered and two people grievously wounded.

This is just about the only way to see the old mansion now. It's hidden away by time. When that home was built, it was situated on 176, I believe, acres. It was literally in the middle of nothing out here. On the night of the ambush, police arrived at the mansion to find a chaotic scene. Shattered glass. Blood everywhere. On the first floor of the house,

the bullet-brittled body of Priscilla's boyfriend, Stan Farr, lay crumpled in the kitchen. Another man, Bubba Gavril, was alive but paralyzed. And in the basement, they discovered the lifeless body of Andrea Wilborn, Priscilla's daughter by another marriage. She had been shot once through the chest. I think of what the police must have seen when they arrived.

Finding and happening upon a child who'd been murdered. Andrea was 12 years old. She was well beyond her 12 years. She was an old soul, an animal lover. Dee Davis was 18, Andrea's older sister. She was very artistic. She loved to draw. She was the one that in all of the cameras,

in all of the publicity, that was forgotten. I grew up very close to it. I grew up a matter of blocks away from the mansion. Attorney Kristi Jack has tried over 200 cases, none like this one. When I see this case, I think, I've never seen anything like it. And no one in Fort Worth society had ever seen anyone like Priscilla. Hot pants and halter tops.

She had a very hot body. Not your typical mom. I thought she was the most gorgeous woman I'd ever laid my eyes on. I worshipped her. I absolutely worshipped her. Both Priscilla and Cullen were married with children when they first laid eyes on each other. They met on the tennis courts. I think it was chemistry like we've never seen before. And their relationship played out like a Hollywood script. He came from money. She, on the other hand, came from the wrong sides of the tracks. It was an instant attraction when they did meet, but it wasn't a good fit.

How did she feel about Cullen? She loved him. She loved that man. Did he adore her? For a time, it seemed he did. So Cullen became husband number three for Priscilla, and the Davis family lived large. We would take the Learjet to Aspen and go skiing for the weekend.

And then there was the mansion. Fort Worth has lots of mansions. We have lots of money, but there's only been one residence ever that was referred to as the mansion. They filled the mansion with the finest works of art, all sorts of luxurious appointments. Did it feel like home to you? No, never. Never. It was just so sterile feeling. It was his house.

It was his house. He would stand there with his hands on his hips and just look around at the vastness of this house. About the time that they built the mansion and furnished it, you might say it's the beginning of the end. The end came just six years after they married. The chemistry cools. The affections begin to wane. It was Priscilla who filed for divorce. There's all sorts of accusations both directions. They'd both begun seeing other people.

Cullen had taken up with a young woman who was the mother of two children and had moved in with her. When somebody divorces a spouse, their girlfriends are gonna say, Girl, you get all you can. And Priscilla did. Two years into the proceedings, she was asking for almost $50 million, and the divorce judge had banished Cullen from his mansion. Cullen's writing the checks. Right, and he's writing the checks. He can't get in the house. He can't get in the house.

Priscilla apparently took advantage of her new freedom. There were parties and a new man in her life. The person that she primarily became involved with was a man named Stan Farr. And Stan was an ex-basketball player from TCU. And I think Stan was probably 6'8". So he was as huge as Priscilla was petite. And so they made quite a stunning couple when they would appear in public, which they did. And on that August night, the couple were out again, leaving Andrea alone doing schoolwork.

Safe, her mother thought. As you might imagine, with a $5 million mansion, it had a pretty elaborate alarm system. It would be the last night of Andrea's life. Have you ever wondered who created that bottle of sriracha that's living in your fridge? Or why nearly every house in America has at least one game of Monopoly? Introducing The Best Idea Yet, a brand new podcast from Wondery and T-Boy about the surprising origin stories of the products you're obsessed with and the bold risk-takers who brought them to life. Like, did you know that Super Mario, the best selling video game character of all time,

only exists because Nintendo couldn't get the rights to Popeye? Or Jack, that the idea for the McDonald's Happy Meal first came from a mom in Guatemala? From Pez dispensers to Levi's 501s to Air Jordans, discover the surprising stories of the most viral products. Plus, we guarantee that after listening, you're going to dominate your next dinner party.

So follow The Best Idea Yet on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to The Best Idea Yet early and ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus. It's just the best idea yet. In the Pacific Ocean, halfway between Peru and New Zealand, lies a tiny volcanic island. It's a little-known British territory called Pitcairn,

and it harboured a deep, dark scandal. There wouldn't be a girl on Pitcairn once they reached the age of 10 that was still a virgin. It just happens to all of us. I'm journalist Luke Jones, and for almost two years, I've been investigating a shocking story that has left deep scars on generations of women and girls from Pitcairn. When there's nobody watching, nobody going to report it,

people will get away with what they can get away with. In the Pitcairn trials, I'll be uncovering a story of abuse and the fight for justice that has brought a unique, lonely Pacific island to the brink of extinction. Listen to the Pitcairn Trials exclusively on Wondery+. Join Wondery in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. While her daughter Andrea was home in the mansion, Priscilla and her boyfriend Stan Farr were out on the town.

They'd just found out that a judge had upped the amount of money Colin Davis had to pay Priscilla each month. She and Stan arrived home around midnight. Priscilla discovers that the security system has been disarmed. According to Priscilla, Stan Farr went upstairs. Suddenly, Priscilla is facing the gunman dressed in black. He's wearing a wig, his face uncovered. First, the gunman says, Hi.

Then he opens fire. Priscilla's been shot. Stan comes down the stairs after the commotion. The man in black then turns and shoots him four times. motion. The man in black then turns and shoots him four times and basically riddles his body full of holes. Priscilla makes a run for it, and the man in black pursues her until he hears a car pull up. In the driveway were two friends, Beverly Bass and her boyfriend, Bubba Gavril. The man in black turns around and fires at Bubba Gavril, which ultimately paralyzes him. In the panic and gunfire, Priscilla and Beverly Bass take off running for help, not knowing what happened to Andrea.

not knowing what happened to Andrea. So you have two women who are terrified, two women who are running through the dark, running for their life to get away from him, to get away from the mansion. We got to the hospital, and I see my mother laying on the gurney. It was Cullen. He shot me.

Don't let him get away with this. She must have thought she was going to die. And she wanted it known. Did you believe it was Cullen who shot her? There was never a doubt in my mind. As she lay fighting for her own life, Priscilla learns that Andrea is dead. There is no more tragic death, no more tragic homicide than that of a child.

It's a hole that will never be filled when you lose a child. Somebody literally held me by the side of the arms and said, Andrea's dead. And, you know, I just fainted. As Andrea was laid to rest, her mother was unable to attend her daughter's burial. Priscilla was still recovering from her wounds. The case against Cullen Davis seemed clear-cut, says Jack Strickland, who worked in the district attorney's office at the time.

Priscilla told police she knew it was Cullen. She could see his face. She even begged him to stop. She's saying, Cullen, don't. Please, please don't. I love you, Cullen. I've always loved you. There's never been anybody else. I mean, at this point, she's saying what she can to try and survive. The second eyewitness, Beverly Bass, confirmed the ID. Both of them, opposite directions, different locations, talking to completely different people, both identified Cullen Davis as the man in black. Police track down Cullen Davis

at the home of his girlfriend, Karen Master, and arrest him. And you can begin to see the special treatment already start. I mean, after all, you're talking about the death of a child. But in Colin Davis' case, he was allowed not only the luxury of getting dressed, even went so far as putting on a sport jacket. There were no handcuffs. He wasn't treated like the normal suspect. Cullen said he'd been in bed at Karen's at the time of the shootings.

Karen said she'd taken a sleeping pill and couldn't say for sure where Cullen had been. Within hours, a judge sets bail at just $80,000. The multimillionaire, accused of shooting four people and killing a child, is out by the end of the day. $80,000 is a lot of money, but to him back then, that was a pittance. Police did worry that Cullen Davis might take off. After all, he had plenty of money, so they put him under surveillance. They knew that Cullen had his own private jet, and they knew where his jet was stored. Just about a month after his arrest, they catch him heading to the airport. And he was stopped as he was walking up the ramp to his plane,

just moments away from freedom. Davis said he was just making a quick trip to Houston. He is taken into custody, this time in handcuffs. With Cullen now behind bars, police start to dig deeper into the case. They discover Cullen has a temper and he's the kind of man who always wanted things his way. Always. He's one of those people that if he wants a special of the day that's only served on Wednesday and it's Tuesday, then by God, you need to get in there and make what I want.

Dee remembers one terrifying night. She and Cullen got into an argument. When her mother, Priscilla, came into the room holding Dee's pet kitten, Cullen lost control. And he reached over to her and he grabbed the kitten and he literally slammed that kitten on the floor and killed it. Cullen admits killing the cat, and he also admits he slapped Dee once. Dee says her mother always brushed off Cullen's bad behavior.

I would say, he's crazy, and I'm scared of him. And she said, he loves you. And, you know, back then, abuse wasn't viewed the same way it was. It was a different generation, and I don't think she had the confidence to live without a man. Cullen Davis denies ever abusing Priscilla, and this man believes him. Trey Davis is Cullen's adopted son from another marriage.

Was he ever abusive to you? He never touched me. Never not once? He never once touched me. And so what was it like growing up with Cullen as your father? He was strict, but that was all for my benefit. Never missed a school activity, a game or graduations or any of that kind of thing. He was always there. Trey was only seven years old at the time of the crime, but as an adult,

he made it a point to study the case. He says the police got it wrong. I asked him if I said, Dad, did you do these things? He said, I absolutely did you do these things he said I absolutely did not do these things and he said I didn't have any problem with Andrea yet one year after his arrest one of the wealthiest men in Texas was about to stand trial for murder it's very painful to lose a child and of course the traumatic way everything occurred has affected me and I guess it always will. The DA's office theory behind the crime was that Cullen committed all of these crimes because of the divorce. His hatred of Priscilla was so intense

that he was going to kill her, and anyone else that stood in the way would simply be collateral damage. Take a look at more crime scene photos, now on Facebook at 48 hours. One year after Colin Davis was arrested, the oil tycoon stood trial for the murder of 12-year-old Andrea Wilborn. This is a cold-blooded killing of a child because you're angry at the mother and angry at the way that this whole marriage is dissolving. This is a crime scene, right? That's a crime scene photo.

This is a crime scene, right? That's a crime scene photo. Although there were multiple crimes, Jack Strickland says his colleagues in the DA's office decided to try this one first. I think that he killed Andrea because Andrea was a potential witness. Cullen's primary target, Strickland says, was his estranged wife, Priscilla, who was demanding $50 million to settle their divorce and was still living in his mansion. He certainly had a motive. He certainly was a person that was accustomed to getting his own way and would react violently when he didn't get his own way. There was nothing to be enraged about.

He didn't worship this house like everybody says he did. Trey Davis still believes his father is innocent and was just biding his time in the divorce. He didn't care about Priscilla with somebody else. He had moved on with somebody else himself. And the case against Cullen did have weaknesses. Is a wig or a gun or fingerprints or anything like that ever found at the crime scene? No. There's no physical evidence that puts Cullen Davis at that crime scene? No.

But there were two eyewitnesses, Priscilla and Beverly Bass, who both said that Cullen was the shooter. Keep in mind that Priscilla has just seen him kill Stan Farr. And she was then and always afterwards 100% convinced that it was Cullen in the wig? Yes. The stakes were high. If convicted, Davis could be executed. Yet attorney Christy Jack says Davis had one distinct advantage. This was perhaps the first, if not the only trial,

where the defense had more money to spend than the state of Texas on the other side. That meant Cullen Davis could afford a team of high-powered attorneys, headed by Texas legend Richard Racehorse Haynes. I think the jury system is the best possible system ever devised. He was a walking, talking icon. He was a rock star. Haynes was also a mentor to Dan Cogdell, who studied Haynes' work on the Davis case. He never opined one way or the other on Cullen's guilt or innocence,

neither did he ever opine on anybody else's guilt or innocence. It didn't matter to Haynes. What mattered to Haynes was giving the best representation and advice possible. Cullen did have an alibi, of sorts. His girlfriend, Karen, testified that she saw him in bed around the time of the murders. But remember, initially she told authorities she had been sleeping and couldn't say where he was.

Was she lying? Yes, most definitely. And they asked her, why didn't you tell us that the night of the arrest? She said, I didn't think it was important. It was a mistake. It was just a mistake. Still, Haynes wasn't relying on an alibi.

Instead, he set out to shatter the credibility of the two eyewitnesses. Haynes suggested that Beverly owed Priscilla favors and would lie for her. So maybe while running in fear of their lives, the two women hatched a plan to frame Cullen. What about the idea that Beverly and Priscilla, who's shot with a gaping hole in her chest, concoct this plan to go after Cullen and pin it on him and then run in the opposite direction. There's only one lawyer in the country that would have pitched that theory without getting laughed out of the courtroom, and that was Haynes.

Haynes had a reputation for wearing down witnesses. He kept Priscilla on the stand for 11 days, grilling her about her sex life, her prescription drug use, her parties. Haynes knew more about Priscilla Davis literally than Priscilla Davis could recall on the stand. She became the villain of the trial. She did. Haynes was able to cross-examine Priscilla about sexual escapades that she had four years before the murders happened. There's not a judge in the country that would let that sort of cross-examination material into evidence these days.

I've never seen the grieving mother of a child be so vilified. Andrea was forgotten. Her death was forgotten. There was one person and one person only that was prosecuted in that trial, and it was Priscilla. I remember she came home and she said, "'It is now day 17, "'and Andrea's name has not been spoken.'"

But the fact that I was wearing a powder pink, feather suede suit in the summer has been really given a lot of press. But if Cullen didn't kill Andrea, who did? The defense was ABC, as easy as one, 2, 3, anybody but Cullen. Defense witnesses suggested that Stan Farr may have been the real target. He worked in bars, in nightclubs, and the defense indicated he allegedly knew drug dealers. Stan Farr was shot four times. So is it possible that he was really the intended victim by someone other than Cullen? I think Stan Farr was shot four times because he was a big guy and took four shots to kill him.

As Haynes laid out his theories, he also worked outside the courtroom, pioneering tactics to spin his story in the media and polish his client's image. There were concentrated, paid for, orchestrated public relations efforts undertaken. The judge allowed Cullen to mingle with his admirers. He even signed autographs. These people were baking him cookies and treating him like he was a rock star. And Davis's attorneys weren't the only ones collecting money from him. Davis was paying an investigator for inside information on the state's case. Strickland found out years later.

Our chief DA's investigator on the case was on the take. It's a betrayal of just unbelievable proportions. Cullen Davis's trial lasted three months, but it took the jury only four hours to reach its verdict. not guilty of killing 12-year-old Andrea. Priscilla was stunned by the acquittal. So was Dee. I was shocked. I was shocked. I was shocked. It feels good. You would think that after a verdict, after escaping the death penalty, you would lead a life of quiet gratitude. But that wasn't the larger-than-life person that he was. Cullen Davis would soon be in trouble again. And this time, he was squarely in the crosshairs

of Jack Strickland. Was there any part of you that's like, okay, now we're going to get him? Yeah, there was. There really was. Cullen Davis resumed his prosperous life with his girlfriend, Karen. Cullen Davis resumed his prosperous life with his girlfriend Karen. But he was still embroiled in a nasty divorce, says attorney Christy Jack. You have to remember, this is a man that was not accustomed to anyone telling him what to do or how he was going to live his life.

Then, suddenly, just nine months after being acquitted of murder, Davis was back in the headlines, this time charged with hiring a hitman. It was like same song, second verse. Prosecutor Jack Strickland was assigned to the case. You don't like this man very much, do you, Jack? No, I do not. The case against Cullen began with an accusation from a man named David McCrory. David McCrory was a friend of Cullen Davis's, and he was not a 100% savory character. McCrory had gone to the FBI and dropped a bombshell. He said Cullen had been pressuring him to find a hitman to effect the murder of several people who had crossed Cullen,

including Priscilla and the judge presiding in their divorce. McCrory, to his credit, goes to the FBI and rats him out. And the FBI is astounded, of course. FBI agents set up a sting. They got Judge Joe Edson to play dead and took a photo. So the FBI takes the judge, a sitting judge, mind you, puts him in the trunk of a car, smears ketchup, McDonald's ketchup all over the back of his T-shirt,

and he poses as if he's dead lying in the trunk of the car. Judge goes along with this. Yep. Keep in mind, he's had a lot of dealings with Cullen in court. The plan was for McCrory to show Cullen Davis the staged photo and collect $25,000 for the alleged hit. This is surveillance video shot by the FBI when the two men met. The FBI had wired McCrory to secretly record audio. McCrory claimed that he showed Cullen the grim photo. They meet in a parking lot, not far from the mansion, actually. McCrory delivers the picture and says, I got the judge dead. Cullen says, good.

I got Judge Edson dead for you. I'll get the rest of them dead for you. You want a bunch of people dead, right? Am I right? Cullen gives him the $25,000, which McCrory puts in his pocket, and they part ways. I have got the money. Cullen drove off, and that's when he was arrested. The evidence against him seemed irrefutable. Thomas Cullen Davis and Charles David McCrory. 8-20-78. Law enforcement has tapes.

They have recordings. They have Cullen on tape talking about wanting to kill people. A list of people, most notably the judge that was presiding over his divorce hearing. But once again, Cullen Davis had Richard Racehorse Haynes on his side. And I claim that this is a strange and bizarre plot that could only happen here. The defense theory turned the whole case upside down. You know, you're going to have to try and stay with me here and try not to laugh. Cullen's defense was that he thought he was working for the FBI, not McCrory.

Hey, thanks for not letting me down. What? I'm trying to do you a good job. Davis testified he'd gotten a call from a man who said he was a federal agent and that the agent said the FBI needed Cullen's help. The supposed agent said McCrory was out to extort money from Cullen, and Cullen could help the FBI's investigation by playing along with whatever McCrory said. And Cullen testified that is exactly what he was doing

when those tapes were made. As for that $25,000 that McCrory took from Cullen? Cullen said it was McCrory's gambling winnings, that McCrory had given it to Cullen for safekeeping, and Cullen was simply returning it. No evidence of that. And knowing David McCrory as I did, the likelihood that he was going to give that money to anybody was pretty unlikely.

And Strickland wonders, why didn't Cullen speak up when he was arrested? If I were Cullen, of course, what I would have immediately said is, hey, get a hold of my friends at the FBI. Get them to verify my story. This is a terrible mistake. The fact is, the FBI denied ever calling Cullen. I don't think the FBI would entrust him to mail a letter for them.

So Strickland felt confident. But when the case went to the jurors, they deliberated for 44 hours and then hopelessly deadlocked. All of the evidence, all of the tapes, led to a hung jury. Eight people voted to convict him. Four voted to acquit him. How do you feel? I feel great. Tell them this way.

Some thought you were guilty. Can you comment on that? They're wrong. Still, Colin Davis was not off the hook. I've got to tell you there was not the slightest doubt in my mind that we would retry Colin Davis. Not a moment's doubt. at 48hours.com. Colin Davis' Hitman Trial Take 2 was a virtual replay with one striking difference,

a new defense witness. Suddenly this guy walks in and he looks like he's the real deal. He doesn't look like the usual creep that they brought in. LISA STARK, That witness was Roger Shy, a linguistics professor at Georgetown University. He picked apart those recordings and concluded that David McCrory was manipulating the conversation and leading Davis. ROGER SHY, You are a bunch of people, right?

Am I right? Am I right? All right. And then he starts talking about glottal stops and things that I'd never heard of. Did you think, like, what is he talking about? Well, I did, but I thought it spelled trouble. I mean, because he was a legitimate witness. In his closing, Strickland argued that Cullen Davis' words were clear.

This was on tape, which the jury could hear. I got you a chance to do it for you. But when the jury reached its verdict, Strickland could not believe his ears. And the presiding judge, it was on the record, the presiding judge uttered an expletive. Can you tell me what it was? He said, F, they've acquitted him. Colin Davis was acquitted again. It was a pretty hard pill to swallow.

It still bothers you today? Oh, absolutely. I feel like I could have or should have done more for this community and for Priscilla. I was an officer of the court who just didn't do enough. Richard Haynes' protege, Dan Cogdell, says it was the greatest defense victory he has ever seen. The jury, at the end of the day, they believed that the tape supported Cullen's version and not McCrory's version. Haynes and the whole team did a masterful job of using horrible evidence to their advantage. In light of its devastating losses in court,

the state dropped charges for Stan Farr's murder and the shooting of Priscilla and Bubba Gabrel. for Stan Farr's murder and the shooting of Priscilla and Bubba Gabrel. I don't think of it as a case as being unsolved. I think of it as a case as being unproven. Cullen also prevailed in his divorce case. He got his beloved house back and only had to pay Priscilla around $3 million, a fraction of what was at stake. And his life continued to take dramatic turns.

His business floundered. He declared bankruptcy, and along the way he married his girlfriend, Karen. That's when he adopted her son, Trey. The two remain close. Dad's aberrant behavior in the past has been chronicled quite extensively. But what has not been chronicled quite extensively is the man he became. He's a principled man, endowed with ethics, virtue, and integrity that are unimpeachable.

And here is Cullen Davis at 83 years old, still going strong. Davis sold the mansion and these days lives in a more modest home in a Fort Worth suburb. He agreed to talk with 48 Hours, and these days describes himself as a born-again Christian. What have you learned about yourself? Well, the main thing is that God is in control. Does a man of God have to confess his sins publicly? That's kind of a crazy question. The only admission a person has to make is to God. The Bible does not require confession of sins to anybody.

Cullen's newfound faith did motivate him to ask Andrea's father for forgiveness. But Davis insists it wasn't a confession. Did you shoot Andrea that night? No. Did you shoot Stan Farr? No. You never shot any of those people? That's right. Davis also denies being involved in any murder-for-hire plot, but what Cullen Davis will cop to is paying that state investigator for inside information during his murder trial. It wasn't a bribe. What was it? He came to us.

Do you think that was wrong, illegal, unethical? Yes. But I was willing to take information from anybody willing to give it. After his acquittals, Davis was caught up in a number of civil cases with people trying to hold him accountable. Some settled out of court for undisclosed amounts. He told us about one brought by Stan Farr's son. I had no money left to pay lawyers. And so I agreed to a judgment with him of $250,000, which I had no intention of paying. Well, thanks for leaving me nothing.

All in all, Cullen Davis seems at ease talking about his own life story. What is the lesson that you take from it? Well, don't marry somebody like I married. Jack Strickland thinks more kindly of Priscilla. He found a kindred soul in her after his defeat at trial. The two of you dated for a while? We did. In part, I think it's kind of the lifeboat theory. Nobody else understood what Priscilla had gone through,

and she knew how badly this case had affected me. We were within 24 hours of being married, and we decided that we weren't going to put ourselves or our families through that at that time. The right time to marry never happened, and the romance ended. But Strickland and Priscilla remained close until the day she died from breast cancer.

He delivered her eulogy. What do you think she should be remembered? She ought to be remembered as a victim who had a big heart and sometimes displayed bad judgment. Dee Davis says as much as her mother felt Cullen was responsible for Andrea's murder, she also held herself accountable. She blamed herself for leaving her alone. She blamed herself for bringing Cullen into our lives. She grieved and grieved and grieved,

and she used to say, it never gets any easier. She still admires her mother. I want my mother to be remembered as a very kind, considerate, good-hearted person that just happened to be hot. And she'll always be part of this notorious case that still haunts Fort Worth, Texas. No one has ever paid for the murders of Andrea Wilborn, or Stan Farr, or for shooting the two survivors. No justice was ever served. I hope y'all never stop talking about this, because as soon as you stop talking about it, then that means it's over Richard racehorse Haynes died in April 2017

The mansion is now an event space often used for weddings If you like this podcast, you can listen ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app. Before you go, tell us about yourself by filling out a quick survey at wondery.com slash survey.