Parting shots

A triple murderer freed from prison runs into his old nemeses on the way back to the pen

Comments (0) By Steve Mcvicker Thursday, May 4 2000

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Judge Entz continued the punishment hearing until June 1. If Davis leads prosecutors to $4 million they believe he pocketed in the scheme, Entz said he would take that into consideration in the sentencing. Investigators say Davis may have stashed the funds in overseas accounts.

"He might give them some of it," says Bonds skeptically, "but he won't give them all of it."

Former Houston homicide detective Johnny Bonds has kept up his pursuit of triple murderer Michael Lee Davis for 20 years.

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On the flight to Dallas for the hearing, Poe and Bonds tell me that in the more than two decades since the Wanstrath murders, rarely does a day go by that they don't think about the dead family, especially the slain baby. Poe keeps a picture of Kevin Wanstrath on his desk. Bonds keeps one in his mind.

"Nothing ever affected me as much as seeing that baby dead in that crib with all those stuffed animals," Bonds says solemnly.

A few minutes later I remind Bonds that the investigator had asked me to tell his old nemesis hello for him. I had done just that when I surprised Davis in Dallas. Bonds laughs.

"And now I get to tell him good-bye," says Bonds, grinning at the thought. A good-bye, though, doesn't mean closure.

"The guy is a natural-born criminal, and he will never pay his debt unless he dies in prison," says the detective. "[Testifying] gives me some satisfaction. But I don't think I'll have closure until one of us dies."