Franklin Davis, the Irving man accused of murdering 16-year-old Shania Gray Thursday on the banks of the Trinity River, gave a series of jailhouse interviews to local media outlets to share his part of the story. Demons, he said. It was the demons.
"I didn't plan on hurting her," he told WFAA's David Schecter. "I was fighting demons. It was like a different person was in me."
The facts of the story are unsettling. Davis, 30, is charged with raping Shania, then 14, several times when she was a babysitter for his kids. She was scheduled to testify at his trial in October which, according to an arrest affidavit obtained by the Morning News, is why Davis wanted to talk to her.
Davis, knowing she wouldn't, created a fake Facebook account with the picture of a teenage boy. He began messaging Shania, telling her he knew her friends and had a crush on her, per the paper's front-pager on Sunday. He called her using a pre-paid cell phone and agreed to meet her Thursday at Hebron High School.
Shania was surprised to see him, according to the affidavit, but agreed to get into the car when he said he just wanted to talk about the rape case. During the drive to a trail head at Valley View Lane and 635, she saw a pistol in his car and asked Davis if he planned to hurt her. He said no, and they walked down the trail to the Trinity, where he shot her twice.
"Why, Wish?" she asked as she stumbled into the water, using his nickname. Davis then pulled her onto the bank and stepped on her neck until she stopped breathing, according to what he told police. Shania's body was found there two days later.
Davis was arrested on Saturday and allegedly confessed. He's being held in Dallas County on a capital murder charge. Bond is set at $2 million. Friends and family have set up a memorial Facebook page in memory of Shania.
Chloe Menager, whose 1-year-old son died on the same day, also said demons made her do it.
