Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, July 31, 1994 TAG: 9408010057
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: HAMPTON LENGTH: Medium
Brian N. Davis was one of three people charged with opening the coffin of John Marks at Hampton Veterans Memorial Cemetery to steal jewelry, then setting the body on fire to cover up.
A Hampton Circuit Court jury Friday found Davis guilty of one count each of breaking and entering, displacing a body and grand larceny. The jury found Davis innocent of arson. Davis testified during his one-day trial that an older accomplice set the fire that burned Marks' body three days after it was buried.
The case was heard in Circuit Court because Davis was declared an adult for the trial. Afterward, Judge Nelson T. Overton set a $10,000 bond and scheduled Davis' sentencing for Aug. 26.
Earlier Friday, the two other men involved pleaded guilty to the same four felony counts with which Davis was charged. Sentencing for James T. Blake, 27, who worked as a groundskeeper at the cemetery, is scheduled for Aug. 29. Sentencing for Matthew Wright, 18, of Newport News, who drove the trio to the cemetery and acted as a lookout, is scheduled for Aug. 26.
Davis testified that six quarts of beer and the urgings of an older friend led him into the mausoleum. He said that he helped pry open the door, broke through marble and concrete panels and stuck his hand inside a coffin to grope for jewelry.
``I thought we were going to turn back,'' Davis said, ``but when we got there, it just happened.''
Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Robert B. Wilson argued that, contrary to what Davis testified, the ``heinous, grotesque crimes'' didn't ``just happen.''
``He did it. He knew what he was doing. He is the one who stuck his hands inside a coffin to feel around for jewelry,'' Wilson said.
by CNB