This case was on today and I was wondering if there were any updates or clues not elaborated on in the UM segment. Apparently Jack didn't die in that isolated stairwell, but was placed there by the last person or persons to see him alive.

Yeah, Jack Davis, this case has long intrigued me. I dont believe his death was a suicide or an accidental fall. The cops and the local coroners botched up that one big time. The coroner especially didnt even do his job and missed skull fractures. It is a good thing the Davis family decided to consult Dr. Cyril Wecht. I have long been a fan of Dr. Wecht and I do think that he is a modern day Sherlock Holmes as they said on Unsolved Mysteries. It was obvious that Jack Davis's body was not at the bottom of that stairwell for five days. Also it had rained and his clothes were dry. There was just things that didnt add up with his body being there for that long. I think his body was only there for a few hours before it was found. Davis I think was in some kind of fight and was beaten pretty good, he lingered for a few days and either died or was dying at a separate location and then was moved to the stairwell.

I am a fan of Dr. Wecht and it is sad to see what has happened to him. In January Wecht was forced to step aside as Alleghany County Coroner because he was indicted on 73 counts of corruption. I think most of those charges are mail fraud. These are federal charges and if found guilty could end up spending the rest of his life in federal prison. I think he is facing at least 20 years in federal prison if found guilty. Wecht is 73, 74 and that would be a death sentence for him basically. Wecht is still bothered by the Davis case from what I have heard because it was never found who killed him. Wecht though can pretty much find what the real cause of death is and I feel he is certainly in the top 5 in terms of coroners in the whole country. There was another case on UM that took place in Pittsburgh. It was where a woman "fell" from her apartment balcony. The police of course instantly ruled it suicide. Coroner Wecht took a look at this case and I think the body was even exhumed and he determined she had defense wounds and stuff on her and he said the way she fell and the distance she fell from the building showed that she was either pushed off the balcony or thrown off. Her husband whom she did not have the greatest relationship with was indicted and charged with murder in her death about 5 or 6 years after the fact. However amazingly he was acquitted in a trial.

Wow! What are the specifics on those mail fraud charges? 73 counts?!

Anyways, I feel that Jack Davis was beaten and held somewhere where he died after a few days, I believe they said he had heavy beard stubble and it takes at least a few days for that to appear on a man's face. He was then moved to where he was found shortly before he was discovered. I'm wondering if any of the students there were questioned or did the investigators botch that opportunity.

Well it seemed to me that the cops and the coroner were just totally convinced from the get go that this was a case of a highly intoxicated young man who fell down the stairs and died. That is basically what they thought and I know the Chief of Police said that he thought that Jack was just very drunk and had fallen down the stairs. As Dr. Wecht said Jack was drinking the last night he was seen alive. No one questions that Jack was drinking or that he was heavily intoxicated that night. However as Dr. Wecht said when a person dies the body will stop processing alcohol meaning that if Jack had in fact died the same night he was last seen as intoxicated as he was there would have been alcohol left in his system. However when the toxicology results came back there was no alcohol in Jack's system. Dr. Wecht said for as intoxicated as Jack was said to have been it could have taken up to 30 hours after he stopped drinking for all the alcohol to be out of his system. I believe Jack was last seen either very late Friday night or very early Saturday morning. 30 hours would mean that his body would have been cleared of alcohol sometime on Sunday morning meaning he was at least still alive on Sunday. Yet the cops still stick to their guns and still insist he was drunk! How could a guy be drunk when he has no alcohol in his system? There are other things, his body was not in a state of decomposition which would have started had he been dead for 5 days. Also it had rained the previous two nights before his body was found yet his clothes were not wet. Also there were students in the classrooms above where his body was found and they could clearly see the location of his body if they looked out the windows, yet no one reported seeing it. I think the coroner and the cops really botched this investigation big time and I think they just wanted to believe it was an accident and have the case go away. I think Wecht said it looked like Jack had not been dead for more than 24 hours at the time his body was discovered on Wedensday. Personally I think that Jack was severly beaten somewhere for some reason on the night he was last seen. I think he was last seen shortly after midnight Saturday Morning. At some point after that he was beaten severely probably to the point of being unconcious. It was probably the case of someone being pissed off and being highly intoxicated and just letting their emotions get the better of them. They probably meant just to rough Jack up a little bit but instead went overboard. The person who beat him then removed him to a different location where they kept him and they probably thought he would get better but he didnt and eventually died. They didnt want to take him to the hospital because then they be found out as having beat him. I think there is a good chance Jack would have survived had he been taken to a hospital. After Jack died the person who killed him waited until dark and probably waited until the late evening, early morning hours before sun rise to remove the body and take it to the stairwell where it was found. On a college campus there is constantly people up and about so the only time they could have moved a body without being seen would be probably sometime in the very late evening or early morning hours. It rained too so this tells me he was moved sometime between midnight and 5 a.m. Just my opinion sorry for going on so long.

Also in my opinion it would have taken two people to move Jack, so in my view at least two people know what happened there. A minimum of two maybe more. Also on Dr. Wecht's current situation. Wecht is currently 75 years old and is facing more charges than I had even said before. Wecht was indicted in January 20, 2006 on 84 felony counts. These charges range from mail fraud and wire fraud to theft from the office. This theft thing is from accusations that Wecht took cadavers that didnt have any relatives or any one claim them and he took them from the Alleghany County Coroner's office and traded them to a university to use in exchange for laboratory space for his private pathology business. Dr. Wecht is in trouble, he hired former Pennsylvania Governor and U.S. Attorney General Richard Thornburgh to lead his defense team and be his chief legal counsel. Wecht moved for a dismissial but just last week this motion was denied. The judge wrote a 31 page opinion on why he denied it and the merits of the case. This case is scheduled to go to trial and the trial is due to start on October 16th of this year. The trial will go a LONG time with 84 counts though. Former Governor George Ryan of Illinois, his trial went for like 7 or 8 months and he was facing 18 counts if I remember right. Wecht's trial will take months. Dr. Wecht's personal website is www.cyrilwecht.com Wecht has also alleged that this whole indictment was a vendetta against him by the Alleghany County District Attorney who is known for having a rather strong personal dislike of Dr. Wecht.

I agree with you on all points pertaining to the Jack Davis case. Three clues support the murder theory and support the fact that he was alive until at least Sunday and placed there shortly before his body was discovered:

1. The beard stubble
2. The dry clothing
3. No alcohol in his system

And I also agree that it would take at least two people to have moved him to the bottom of the stairwell. This is another case where the investigators assumed an accident occured and didn't rule out a homicide first and because of pride, they won't claim to have made a mistake and so the investigation comes to a standstill. Weren't there three separate blows to the head?



That's terrible to hear what is going on with Cyril Wecht. I wonder what he did to the DA to warrant him to go about prosecuting him for 84 counts. It's not even mentioned on his website.

I agree with you all that it seems like a murder, but one thing bothers me. Why would people take the risk of dumping him on campus as opposed to dumping him elsewhere? It seems that it was too likely to be seen.

Its an interesting case no doubt but I have some questions about the murder theory.

1. As I recall the Wecht said the blows to the head were not consistent with Davis falling down those stairs... BUT what if Davis didn't fall down the stars but simply fell over the edge of the stairway. If you have this one on video take a look at the sides of the drop away from the stairs (I'm doing this on memory) but as I recall there is no railing only a small hedge and I was unable to tell if the hedge ran all the way along the drop. I think its possible that Davis in an intoxicated state (not necessarily alchol) went to answer natures call stumpled over the edge of the drop and fell to his death not down the stairs but straight down causing "the blow to the head".

2. The beard and the dry clothing don't bother me that much... how wet did that area get? Again as I recall there is a sign behind Wecht and the Campus official that says "WARNING HIGH VOLTAGE" if the stairwell was prone to flooding wouldn't that room be vulnerable to flooding? Its possible if it was a that because of the proximaty of the building the area wasn't vulnerable to a lot of rain. Also given that the original autopsy forgot to include the head, how sure are we that Davis' clothes were completely dry? Could they have dried over the course of time between when he died and when he was found. Facial hair and all hair continues to grow after death, it cannot be relied upon as time factor vs say the temprature of the liver.


3. With regard to no alchol.. What happens to alchol after a few days in the body? I can't remember if Wecht mentioned this or not.. Was his blood only tested for alchol? Could Davis' have been impaired by another substance?

4. Like Watch why would somebody bring the body back to campus? Especially where there are so many potential witnesses? Would there be another stairwell that is closer? I'd like to see a aerial photograph of the IUP campus to see where the body was found.

5. Wouldn't a secret like this be tough to keep even in a fraternity? Obviously the police found out about the other fights, wouldn't they find out about the "accident"?

I'm not against a few conspiracies (;) see the JonBenet Ramsey thread) especially if they can be factually proven but this one seems like a stretch, I'd like to hear the counter points of view.

Wecht was a good Pathologist I wondered why he hadn't made the rounds on the crime talk shows (Nancy Grace, Gretta VS).

Yeah... I've always thought this case had more to it than what the investigators thought.

Well there is more to it. But maybe UM didnt release all the details to keep the tips that would come in genuine. The problem I have with Jack falling is that while there was no railing so conceviably one could just fall over why would he fall head first to the ground? I mean of course that is possible that could have happened. However from a fall like that I would think he would have more fractures plus other broken bones. Well I doubt whoever killed him would go around bragging to the whole fraternity hey we killed Jack Davis. Chances are he was not kept in the frat house. He was kept in a private home or apartment. I am thinking it would have been to hard to smuggle him in and out of an apartment but not impossible. The thing was though was he seen drinking heavily earlier in the evening. So maybe he smoked marijuana or something too but it seems alcohol was what he was "using" that night. That is the most troubling thing to me is with all the alcohol in his system if he had fallen down the steps how could all the alcohol be out of his system? The fact he had no alcohol in his system is what most indicates to me that he was still alive until at least somepoint on Sunday in order for all the alcohol to be out. If you are drunk enough it can take 30 hours after you stop drinking before all the alcohol will be out. If you are not alive your body would stop processing the alcohol and your blood alcohol level would be whatever it was at the time of death meaning his body had processed all the alcohol. Here in Minnesota we had a guy who was drunk driving and who struck and killed a pedistrian. This guy had no clue he was legally drunk or that he even had any alcohol left in his system. The guy blew a .12 and this was at nearly 8 in the morning. The guy said he had not drank since midnight. Meaning that his blood alcohol level when he stopped drinking was probably around a .30 the cops said.

Kadrmas,

Another thing I thought of while reading your response was what if Davis wasn't instantly killed by the fall? Could he have lived enough days in the stairwell that his body processed the alchol?

The orignal autopsy I believe said he died from asperation of his own vomit, maybe he suffered the head trauma that incapcitated but didn't kill him until he finally succumbed.

I don't doubt the offender who commited the crime isn't going to brag "hey we kill jack davis of the Sig Epps." but why would his frat brothers hide this, sure they might try to care for their own but 5-10 years after Davis' death still cover it up? It might be possible that a rival fraternity jumped a solitary davis beat him to a pulp and kidnapped him only to have him die, but wouldn't it be easier to hide his body off campus?

Either way... murder or accident what a horrible way to die, if nothing less its a good reminder to talk to your kids (even college age and young adult kids) about drinking and looking out for your friends when and if you do drink. When I was in school we always had a designated sober.. not necessarily a person that would drive us home (as the person could have a drink or two, and the bars were always within easy walking distance) but a person that would make sure (because they weren't blitzed) we wouldn't do stupid crap like this to get ourselves in trouble.

Well, that could be that he lived, laying unconcious in the stairwell for over 30 hours. However the problem I have with this is that while he could have fallen and not been seen the rest of the weekend because classes werent in session why didnt anyone see him on Monday or Tuesday laying at the bottom of the stairwell? That is what troubles me most about it. I just cant believe that out of the 200 plus students that were in the classrooms overlooking that area on Monday or Tuesday that at least one of them didnt look down and see something. It just doesnt add up that he was laying at the bottom of those steps on Monday and Tuesday. Someone would have seen him. If someone had spotted him first thing Monday then it would be more probable that he had fallen over the ledge and hit his head. There was no guardrail so that is possible especially for someone being highly intoxicated to fall over. However I just think if he had been laying there that he would have been seen on Monday. I think he was beaten severely he was alive until at least some point on Sunday maybe longer than that. I tend to think he was alive even longer than that because I cant see someone keeping his dead body in their place of residence for two or three days after. My guess is he died on Tuesday and was taken to the stairwell that night or very early Wedensday morning. If it was raining Tuesday night it would have been a perfect opportunity to transport the body because especially at night almost no one would be out in the rain. However the question still remains why would they move him to the stairwell? Why wouldnt they just take his body out to the country and dump it? Or bury it or something? Were the killers sophistacted enough to think "Gee, lets dump his body at the bottom of the stairwell. When the cops find it they will think he was just drunk and went to urinate and either fell down the steps or fell over the top to the cement below?" Or did the killer want his body to be found because the killer was remorseful? Whoever killed Jack Davis I am sure is still out there living their life. I dont think Davis's death was a random killing though. He was killed by someone he knew or at least someone that knew him. I think Wecht said the killing appeared personal. Also Wecht disproved the theory that Davis choked on his own vomit as the cause of death. I think he even said the airway was free and clear. He didnt understand how the county coroner could have came to the conclusion that Davis choked on his own vomit when he had no vomit to choke on. Also the county coroner never even discovered the fractures. Wecht did that after he got the body exhumed and performed a much more detailed autopsy.

Kadrmas..

You have some great points and thank you for being willing to discuss them:) :talk:

I agree with you the original autopsy was definately one that was very sloppy and incomplete (dare I say incompetent), how a pathologist doing a standard autopsy would not open the brain cavitity is beyond me and my rudimentary understanding of medicine (like you can take asprin for a headache). How did that pathologist rule out that Davis didn't die of an anuerysm?:eek: The sad thing is not every county has access to a Dr. the calibre of Wecht but they should have at least a competent one that knows when they might have to defer to an expert.

I think there is the possibility that people in the building may not have noticed the body even if it was there for a week. It was after all a stairwell to no where... (an electrical room)... it might not have been that interesting, plus the drop was such from the video it appeared wecht had to be at the window looking down to see the area (that may or may not of been the case in other rooms).. if its a classroom I doubt too many students are going to get up and wander over to the windows and peer down to look in that area during their class (maybe a reflective one does it before or after class).. but for some reason that looked like a dormitory to me? Was it? Again the chances that 500+ people never look out that window and that area are remote but not impossible. (I would think a thorough investigation should test that, maybe pick out a similiar area on campus or do it now in the same area with time people may have grown less conscious of the area, have a volunteer sit in that area with a sign that says "if you can read this call me or come see me" see how many people actually do?)

I still wonder about the killer, why put the body there if your remorseful why not just put it anywhere on campus and drive off... I gotta think even if its a rival frat somebody says.. hey these guys stayed in their apartment for 5 days after that big blow out with our rivals.. can all the fraternity bonds go back that far?

Again I appreciate and respect your viewpoint Kadrmas, I'm not trying to argue with you, just trying to understand this case better. I guess that's why its still not solved.

Thank you..

I realize these posts are over a year old, but on occasion I check the internet to see if anything has surfaced regarding Jack's case. I knew Jack when I was in school, to say hello, small talk, etc. I graduated just before Jack's death, and I remember someone telling me that Jack had died from a fall after drinking too much. I had moved a good bit away from the campus after graduation, and have not really stayed in touch with anyone, so when watching Unsolved Mysteries and seeing Jack's case come up, it was a big surprise.

As I recall, Jack's body was found in a stairwell in Wilson Hall. Wilson Hall at the time was not used for much other than classroom space as a last resort. The hall has since been renovated. If I recall the stairwell, this spot would have only been visible from another classroom building, and his body could have been there a good bit of time and not been seen from the classroom. That being said, I do not believe his body was there for a longtime, and I do not believe that he died from a fall down those stairs. It does not surprise me that the investigation was not handled properly. I was never impressed by either the campus security or the local police. It would have been very easy for them to haphazardly look at the situation as a drunken student falling down steps, and never looking any further.

Another other odd thing is that Jack became a member of this fraternity at all. The fraternity he belonged to was a "muscle-head" fraternity. The majority of the members were muscle-bound weightlifters who spent four-times as much time in the gym as compared to the classroom. Jack was in good shape, but if he were a weightlifter, it would have been hard to tell. Also, Jack came across as good student, and had a very nice demeanor. Jack certainly did not fit the mold of this fraternity's ideal brother.

After watching the episode, I came up with my own theory (like everyone else). I think Jack drank too much, and got into a confrontation with one of his "muscle-head" fraternity brothers. The fraternity brother fueled on alcohol and steriods went over the top and put a good beating on Jack. In order to not get the whole fraternity in trouble, they carry Jack to a dorm near Wilson Hall. After the morons, realize Jack is not going to get better on his own, they don't have the sense nor responsibility to get Jack to a hospital. They let him die, and then carry him a short distance to Wilson Hall to attempt to stage Jack's death.

In order to keep this quiet for 20 years, there were probably just a few people who knew and continue to know what happened. These idiots do not then and continue to not have the conscience to come forward and admit what they did. They realize that they committed murder, and would have to pay for it. The irony is that probably the only member of this fraternity at the time I went to school that would have made something of himself was Jack.

I realize these posts are over a year old, but on occasion I check the internet to see if anything has surfaced regarding Jack's case. I knew Jack when I was in school, to say hello, small talk, etc. I graduated just before Jack's death, and I remember someone telling me that Jack had died from a fall after drinking too much. I had moved a good bit away from the campus after graduation, and have not really stayed in touch with anyone, so when watching Unsolved Mysteries and seeing Jack's case come up, it was a big surprise.

As I recall, Jack's body was found in a stairwell in Wilson Hall. Wilson Hall at the time was not used for much other than classroom space as a last resort. The hall has since been renovated. If I recall the stairwell, this spot would have only been visible from another classroom building, and his body could have been there a good bit of time and not been seen from the classroom. That being said, I do not believe his body was there for a longtime, and I do not believe that he died from a fall down those stairs. It does not surprise me that the investigation was not handled properly. I was never impressed by either the campus security or the local police. It would have been very easy for them to haphazardly look at the situation as a drunken student falling down steps, and never looking any further.

Another other odd thing is that Jack became a member of this fraternity at all. The fraternity he belonged to was a "muscle-head" fraternity. The majority of the members were muscle-bound weightlifters who spent four-times as much time in the gym as compared to the classroom. Jack was in good shape, but if he were a weightlifter, it would have been hard to tell. Also, Jack came across as good student, and had a very nice demeanor. Jack certainly did not fit the mold of this fraternity's ideal brother.

After watching the episode, I came up with my own theory (like everyone else). I think Jack drank too much, and got into a confrontation with one of his "muscle-head" fraternity brothers. The fraternity brother fueled on alcohol and steriods went over the top and put a good beating on Jack. In order to not get the whole fraternity in trouble, they carry Jack to a dorm near Wilson Hall. After the morons, realize Jack is not going to get better on his own, they don't have the sense nor responsibility to get Jack to a hospital. They let him die, and then carry him a short distance to Wilson Hall to attempt to stage Jack's death.

In order to keep this quiet for 20 years, there were probably just a few people who knew and continue to know what happened. These idiots do not then and continue to not have the conscience to come forward and admit what they did. They realize that they committed murder, and would have to pay for it. The irony is that probably the only member of this fraternity at the time I went to school that would have made something of himself was Jack.

Welcome to the board, Mike504. I'm torn on this one myself. On the one hand, the fact that no alcohol was present in his system sort of shoots the police's initial theory. On the other hand, as UMLongtimefan pointed out, he could have been high on something else, and it wouldn't surprise me if that would be the kind of detail UM might "forget" to include.

The beard is only important if everyone is dead sure he was 100% clean shaven the last time he was seen alive. If I remember college right (and I must admit I see it through a bit of a "haze"), there were often times I might not have shaved for a few days and gone out anyway.

The clothes not being wet could break either way, depending on how much rain would get down into that stairwell, etc. Certainly an accidental death seems most likely to me. I have a hard time believing skulking conspiracies and cadavers being moved around unless there is some concrete evidence suggesting that is indeed what happened.

I guess the police were unable to determine conclusively if the bottom of the stairwell is indeed where Jack Davis, Jr. died?

Well, if Davis was drinking heavily on the night he died, and there was no alcohol in his system, I believe Dr. Wecht said that Davis would have to have been alive for around 30 or so hours after he stopped drinking for there to not be any alcohol in his system.

Meaning that while it is possible he was drunk and fell down the stairs, it would mean he laid there for over 24 hours before dying, however that is possible as it would have been the weekend on a college campus and I am sure people were not exactly out and about at the campus buildings as they would have been partying or gone home for the weekend or working or something.

What bothered me, more than no alcohol being in his system (he was seen by numerous people drinking heavily at local college bars on Friday night, the last night he was seen alive, so we know he was drinking Friday) was the type of skull fractures he had. That tells me he suffered quite a beating, yes falling down a flight of cement stairs could and depending on how hard you fell would cause fractures, however I would think for the type of fractures he had, if he wasnt beaten he would have to be pushed down the stairs or thrown down the stairs.

His clothes being dry, if he was out in the open and it was raining heavily for three days before his body was found how could his clothes be dry? I mean while the accident theory is certainly possible, I do find it odd how an inebriated young man in the early morning supposedly walking on what would be a deserted college campus at the time of morning would feel the need to walk down a deserted stair well to urinate. Your average young man that age would just pee in the bushes, or pee on a tree or even pee on the sidewalk out in the open. I know I have urinated in various places while intoxicated that I otherwise would not have urinated in, so while it is possible that he walked down the stairs to urinate in my opinion that is unlikely.

It did not surprise me that the police wrote off what happened to Davis as just a drunk college kid falling down the stairs and hitting his head and dying. That happens a lot more than a lot of people I think would like to believe, where just because a college kid and alcohol are involved the police instantly jump to the conclusion that it must have been an inebriated kid that fell and died. It seemed the investigation was pretty lackluster because once the cops got that accident theory in their head it was over in terms of the investigation and the coroner never examined the inside of the skull because he believed the cops theory and didnt investigate further probably out of inconvienence.

After reading what Mike had to say, I found that interesting about how Jack might have got into a drunken fight with his own fraternity brothers. I have been in a drunken fight or two myself and I will tell you that when you have people that are fighting if they are drunk enough anything can happen. It does appear to me, again just an opinion that regardless of who beat up Jack, that they didnt intend to kill him but that rather it was an argument that fueled by alcohol turned into a fight and an arse whooping.

The fight went further than intended and the people that beat Jack up panicked and took him to an unknown location where they probably tried to nurse him back to health and thought that he would get better, but that he either died in their custody or when they realized that he wasnt going to get better on his own, that they didnt want to take him to the hospital out of fear of getting in trouble and that they probably moved him in the early morning hours to the stairwell where h is body was discovered and that he was either already dead when they moved him or that he died shortly after being moved.

Sad, sad case. :( I know this thread is old but I feel this case needs to be looked into more.

Regarding what Mike5044 suggested about Jack's death, I think it's a plausible theory. Steroid use was rampant in the 80's; very few people knew of health risks steroids posed back then. It's possible he got into a fight with one of his fellow frat members and was killed. However, one would think that one of his frat friends would spill the beans on his death due to guilt. But I'm more interested in the theory that Jack was murdered by members of a rival fraternity.

I'm surprised that no one has brought up the possibility of police corruption in this case. I've never gotten the vibe that the police were completely incompetent, but more that a cop or someone else in power could have had a son in one of the fraternities who may have played a part in Jack Davis' death.

The most illogical part of the foul play theory is why anyone would have taken the huge chance of moving Jack's to the bottom of stairwell on campus instead of disposing of it somewhere else. However, if my corrupt cop theory is true, I could totally see them advising or helping whoever was responsible to plant the body there, so it could be written off as an accidental death. They could certainly have had the influence to close the investigation very quickly and cover up the major discrepancies.

Hell, if that was their plan, it did work successfully for awhile since it was nearly two years later before a reporter decided to point out that the accidental death theory didn't hold water and Dr. Wecht got involved. I think the two-year gap could have made a huge difference since if any students were involved, they could have already graduated and it would be harder to track everyone down and piece together what happened that weekend.

Still nothing about Jack's death. I read the one about the police cover-up. Interesting. It could be checked out through fraternity rolls to determine if there was any connection between membership and police. As far as not understanding the risks people take and why someone would do something, you would have to understand that the members of Jack's fraternity were far from scholars and on a regular basis perceived themselves above the law. I continue to think it goes back to Jack's fraternity and not a rival, and yes fraternities stay tight-lipped to death. I am hoping someone comes forward or at least slips-up.

More than likely, we will never retain any new information/leads in this case due to the length in time that has past. My openion, Jack Davis Jr. was killed during a fight/argeement the night he was last seen, left somewhere for days (deceased), and the person(s) responsible probably moved him to the stairwell in attempt to clear the search. It's possible the person involved felt guilty of the crime committed.

I realize these posts are over a year old, but on occasion I check the internet to see if anything has surfaced regarding Jack's case. I knew Jack when I was in school, to say hello, small talk, etc. I graduated just before Jack's death, and I remember someone telling me that Jack had died from a fall after drinking too much. I had moved a good bit away from the campus after graduation, and have not really stayed in touch with anyone, so when watching Unsolved Mysteries and seeing Jack's case come up, it was a big surprise.

As I recall, Jack's body was found in a stairwell in Wilson Hall. Wilson Hall at the time was not used for much other than classroom space as a last resort. The hall has since been renovated. If I recall the stairwell, this spot would have only been visible from another classroom building, and his body could have been there a good bit of time and not been seen from the classroom. That being said, I do not believe his body was there for a longtime, and I do not believe that he died from a fall down those stairs. It does not surprise me that the investigation was not handled properly. I was never impressed by either the campus security or the local police. It would have been very easy for them to haphazardly look at the situation as a drunken student falling down steps, and never looking any further.

Another other odd thing is that Jack became a member of this fraternity at all. The fraternity he belonged to was a "muscle-head" fraternity. The majority of the members were muscle-bound weightlifters who spent four-times as much time in the gym as compared to the classroom. Jack was in good shape, but if he were a weightlifter, it would have been hard to tell. Also, Jack came across as good student, and had a very nice demeanor. Jack certainly did not fit the mold of this fraternity's ideal brother.

After watching the episode, I came up with my own theory (like everyone else). I think Jack drank too much, and got into a confrontation with one of his "muscle-head" fraternity brothers. The fraternity brother fueled on alcohol and steriods went over the top and put a good beating on Jack. In order to not get the whole fraternity in trouble, they carry Jack to a dorm near Wilson Hall. After the morons, realize Jack is not going to get better on his own, they don't have the sense nor responsibility to get Jack to a hospital. They let him die, and then carry him a short distance to Wilson Hall to attempt to stage Jack's death.

In order to keep this quiet for 20 years, there were probably just a few people who knew and continue to know what happened. These idiots do not then and continue to not have the conscience to come forward and admit what they did. They realize that they committed murder, and would have to pay for it. The irony is that probably the only member of this fraternity at the time I went to school that would have made something of himself was Jack.

It seems everyone has their own conclusion on what happened to Jack Davis Jr. however this is what I was told that happened that night. One of the fraternities not sure which one had a party and Jack was going down the steps to the basement and someone through an empty cage that hit Jack in the head he fell to the ground and was unconscious so some of the brothers took him upstairs to a room and left him there to recover but Jack never woke up so they left him in a room in the fraternity for a few days and were afraid that because they did not call 911 that they would be responsible for his death if they would of call then it would of been a accident and they would not of been charged. But because they left Jacks body in the fraternity house for a few days they panicked and dumped his body in the stairwell. There are only a few brothers who know what happened and are sworn by the brotherhood of the packed not to ever say what happened. People have talked about it but the investigation came up inconclusive and was never solved as to what happened to Jack Davis.

I have no reason to believe he met with foul play. The cause of death doesn't seem to support it and the doctor didn't say if there were defensive wounds on his body, which makes me believe there weren't any because if they suspected foul play they would have said so.

I think Jack choked on regurgitated food in his lungs and while it didn't kill him, it caused him to collapse wherever he was, and it was unlucky that it was a place where the impact was hard enough to kill him. He likely died at a party off campus, and was dumped because whoever the location owners of the party were, were afraid of getting sued for damages because it happened on their property.

slovakgal, If you dont mind me asking, did you hear that story from a member or members of a fraternity at IUP? I have heard a similar story from some people regarding his death. Did you attend IUP?

I personally think only three scenarios seem plausible enough. First, I think it's entirely possible that Jack did in fact fall down the stairwell, and knocked himself unconscious for a long period of time. This would explain the stubble found on his face, and also explain why there was no alcohol found in his system. I also think that due to the extended period of time he went undiscovered, he could have ultimately succumbed to the wounds he received from the fall. OR Jack could have been drinking socially and then imbibed in some sort of narcotics which put him in a heavily intoxicated state. Perhaps he didn't intend to go to the stairwell to urinate, but instead went there to regurgitate, and then he began to choke on his vomit which caused the fall down the stairwell.

The last possibility I see here is Jack had some weird reaction to the booze and/or drugs (a la Kurt Sova), or may have even had one of his drinks spiked with some type of strong narcotic. Perhaps he fell down in this intoxicated state at one of the fraternity parties, knocking him uncounscious there. There may have been some sort of attempt to nurse him back to health, but he ultimately died which most likely would have caused a panic amongst the fraternity members who then placed Jack in the stairwell (could have been late Tuesday or early Wednesday morning), staging the entire scene. This could also explain the stubble, no alcohol being found in his system, and the fact that no one on the campus saw Jack's body until Wednesday.

I don't really don't have much faith in the scenario of some type of an altercation with another frat member. If Jack did get beaten to death, why were there no signs of a struggle found on his body (defensive wounds, signs that his body had been dragged, etc.), other than the factures on his skull? Seems to me like he would have had at least one other sign of a struggle on his body. And Jack did in fact get into a fight with one of the frat members, obviously there would have to have been several witnesses to this. Yet not one has come forward after all these years? I'm sure some have married and had children, and probably matured greatly over the years, and I just don't see how a "code of silence" in a fraternity could be that strong.

On a side note, does anyone else think Cyril Wecht comes off as arrogant? He kind of rubbed me the wrong way on the segment.

It seems everyone has their own conclusion on what happened to Jack Davis Jr. however this is what I was told that happened that night. One of the fraternities not sure which one had a party and Jack was going down the steps to the basement and someone through an empty cage that hit Jack in the head he fell to the ground and was unconscious so some of the brothers took him upstairs to a room and left him there to recover but Jack never woke up so they left him in a room in the fraternity for a few days and were afraid that because they did not call 911 that they would be responsible for his death if they would of call then it would of been a accident and they would not of been charged. But because they left Jacks body in the fraternity house for a few days they panicked and dumped his body in the stairwell. There are only a few brothers who know what happened and are sworn by the brotherhood of the packed not to ever say what happened. People have talked about it but the investigation came up inconclusive and was never solved as to what happened to Jack Davis.

Was the empty cage something like a bird cage or hamster cage or something larger?

I am a fan of Dr. Wecht and it is sad to see what has happened to him. In January Wecht was forced to step aside as Alleghany County Coroner because he was indicted on 73 counts of corruption. I think most of those charges are mail fraud. These are federal charges and if found guilty could end up spending the rest of his life in federal prison. I think he is facing at least 20 years in federal prison if found guilty. Wecht is 73, 74 and that would be a death sentence for him basically. Wecht is still bothered by the Davis case from what I have heard because it was never found who killed him. Wecht though can pretty much find what the real cause of death is and I feel he is certainly in the top 5 in terms of coroners in the whole country. There was another case on UM that took place in Pittsburgh. It was where a woman "fell" from her apartment balcony. The police of course instantly ruled it suicide. Coroner Wecht took a look at this case and I think the body was even exhumed and he determined she had defense wounds and stuff on her and he said the way she fell and the distance she fell from the building showed that she was either pushed off the balcony or thrown off. Her husband whom she did not have the greatest relationship with was indicted and charged with murder in her death about 5 or 6 years after the fact. However amazingly he was acquitted in a trial.

Gotta say I'm shocked on the update on Dr. Wecht.

this was an interesting case....is there any update?

Slovakgal wrote that one of the fraternities was having a party and someone threw an empty "cage" at Jack Davis, hitting him in the head.

She misspelled the word THREW as "through", so did she mis-write and mean that they were having a party and someone threw an empty KEG that hit Jack?

Sorta makes more sense to me... that a drunken partier would throw an empty keg around, rather than an empty cage.

Slovakgal wrote that one of the fraternities was having a party and someone threw an empty "cage" at Jack Davis, hitting him in the head.

She misspelled the word THREW as "through", so did she mis-write and mean that they were having a party and someone threw an empty KEG that hit Jack?

Sorta makes more sense to me... that a drunken partier would throw an empty keg around, rather than an empty cage.

Just seems like such an unlikely thing to do after hitting someone in the head. Of all of the people at this party who witnesses him being hit and knocked out, not one of them has came forward? And at the time, none of them thought it was prudent to call the police? I don't buy that theory.

I'm especially intrigued here by the facial hair growth, it's a real sticking point for me and in my forensics training, that's one thing I find difficult to account for, as this is not something that could've occurred post mortem.

Very surprised that law enforcement didn't pick up on any possible campus scuttlebutt and at least, make a run at substantiating fact from gossip. Campuses are infamous for gossip and truth or lie, you'd think somebody(if it were more than one person) would have gabbed.

Unfortunate case, many questions still to be answered.

Anyone else notice there is an abundance of "he said/she said" that went on between pathologists that appeared on UM? How many segments had one "expert" saying someone died this way while another "expert" swears they died that way. I think this segment is a perfect example of that.

I believe he was killed. No accident. But just my 2 cents.

Here's a link to a 2011 article on the case that I don't think has been posted before: https://www.indianagazette.com/news/indiana-news/new-book-tries-to-unravel-mystery-of-iup-students-1987-death,115043/

The most interesting/new things I took from it, was that Jack supposedly asked for protection from the police, the name of his fraternity, and a member of that fraternity's alleged involvement in drugs.

Just a little background on the location of IUP, which is probably not extremely relevant to this case but might be helpful to some that like to visualize things. IUP is not in a large urban area, it's not in an isolated rural area either. (I went to a different university in the same higher education system as IUP -- and my school was in a much more rural area than IUP.)

Anyone have any thoughts on the article?

Interesting article! Now I'm going to have to buy the book...

Jack Davis has always reminded me of my brother. Maybe that's why his case lingers with me. I hope we someday get answers.

I'm reading the book about the case now. It is VERY interesting. The conflicting stories/evidence. There was also an interesting tidbit about how long Jack was actually down there.

I'm not going to give anything away but I do recommend the book.

"Suspects: None known, however, reporter Marlene Breenen believes that Jack's death may have been caused by a feud between two fraternities, and that he was involved in a fight the night of his death, that he was injured, that he was held somewhere and that the people thought he was going to be better, but when he died, he was placed in the stairwell."

If this is true, why wouldn't members of the other fraternity have come forward to voice their suspicions?

Plus that article says Wecht agreed that his injuries were more likely sustained by a fall than a blow to the head. I still think it was accidental. He probably fell, then passed out and vomited and sadly died afterwards.

[QUOTE=I still think it was accidental. He probably fell, then passed out and vomited and sadly died afterwards.[/QUOTE]

I was leaning in that direction too, really I was, until I found the article I posted on Sunday, which says in part: "...a retired Indiana Borough police officer contacted the family and said Jack came to him for protection two weeks before his body was found," Gentilcore said. "That changes the whole story. "That meant that Jack knew he was going to be harmed, he knew who was going to harm him, but just being 20 years old he didn't know they meant business ..."

Now I am not sure what to think.

I was leaning in that direction too, really I was, until I found the article I posted on Sunday, which says in part: "...a retired Indiana Borough police officer contacted the family and said Jack came to him for protection two weeks before his body was found," Gentilcore said. "That changes the whole story. "That meant that Jack knew he was going to be harmed, he knew who was going to harm him, but just being 20 years old he didn't know they meant business ..."

Now I am not sure what to think.

Well that certainly is an interesting twist. That's pretty big for it to have just been left off the segment.

I tend to think what Mike5044 said might be pretty close to the truth.

You cant die from inhaling your own vomit if there is no vomit found in your lungs at autopsy. The fact that the first autopsy declared that the cause of death without ever examining the lungs is mind blowing. The second autopsy found no trace of vomit. It shows that the authorities , whether to protect the schools reputation or due to laziness, failed to do at least a proper investigation.

He died of trauma to his skull... now whether that was from a drunken fall or from a drunken fight, I'm not sure.

I remember they said there was no alcohol in his system which means he had been without alcohol for at least 36 hours for it to be completely gone. Could he have also laid in the stairway unconscious but alive for 36 hours then died from his injuries? If this wasn't the case, then theory number 2 of a fight gone bad in which he was taken somewhere to recover first would've had to happen if there was no alcohol in his blood.

I have no idea how Jack Davis Jr. died, but it seems pretty obvious it wasn't from a drunken fall down the stairs, followed by inhaling his own vomit and choking to death.

I will take you up on your offer sir / madame and offer a different view point

Im a forensics investigator and in college, part of the curriculum was muder scene investigation and processing, so obviously Ill be biased. Im also just another dumb guy, as my wife will attest to :wave:

Jump in with any ideas you have, and let me apologize in advance if Im misunderstanding you.





1. " BUT what if Davis didn't fall down the stars but simply fell over the edge of the stairway. ... went to answer natures call stumpled over the edge of the drop and fell to his death not down the stairs but straight down causing "the blow to the head".

The problem with this, is that he had, if you remember, multiple abrasions and contusions. They called it the egg shelling effect. Bodies do not bounce when they fall from a height. So your scenario may explain a blow to the head, but not the other blows to the head. Wecht said it indeed look like he had gotten into a scuffle. That's also why the guy thought he got it from falling down the stairs. That could be true, however, the body would have came to rest on the stairs - not on the landing. Bodies dont roll either unless forced.



2. The beard and the dry clothing don't bother me that much... Facial hair and all hair continues to grow after death, it cannot be relied upon as time factor vs say the temperature of the liver.




This is very true. But dont forget, Liver temp is extremely unreliable - our professor akined to to the only way to know is if the bullet they are killed with strikes his watch, stopping time, when killing him. It is a calculated formula, but with temperature fluctuating day and night, its very unreliable. They usually narrow it down to a couple days.



3. With regard to no alchol.. What happens to alchol after a few days in the body? I can't remember if Wecht mentioned this or not.. Was his blood only tested for alchol? Could Davis' have been impaired by another substance?



Wecht said there was none in his system. Now you take that on average it takes 1 hour per "drink" to pass one's system - more or less depending on one's tolerance. One drink being either 1 beer / 1 shot 80 proof / 1 glass of wine.

Alcohol stays in ones system after death (unsure of how long) Regardless, it would have been in his system during the autopsy since his body was fresh.

On that note, rigormortis hadn't even set in, despite the several days missing. This leads me to beleive that he was killed shortly before he was found, or he was attacked, and then for days was given shelter, hoping he would heal on his own. When he didnt his body was dumped.



4. Like Watch why would somebody bring the body back to campus? Especially where there are so many potential witnesses? Would there be another stairwell that is closer? I'd like to see a aerial photograph of the IUP campus to see where the body was found.



This is actually VERY common. People think he can be saved, but if they bring him to the hospital, now youve just included yourself. This is why ER folks say some, usually gangbangers cause they dont want to get into trouble, will literally ride up, drop off their bullet riddin homies in the front, and take off. By law, hospitals HAVE to stabilize anyone they see, regardless if they have insurance, ID, etc. They dont have to perform expensive procedures, but they are obligated to get them to a manageable state as possible.

So I can definitely see frat kids, alcohol, tempers flare, Jack gets into a fight and is accidentally killed (punched and he falls back, hits his head). They panic, keep him, trying to heal his wounds hoping he will come to. Dropping off at hospital, well now they have witnesses. So we'll dump him in a public place but after hours where no one will se us, but someone will see him soon. Hence why Wecht said someone would have seen him if he was lying there all weekend.



5. Wouldn't a secret like this be tough to keep even in a fraternity? Obviously the police found out about the other fights, wouldn't they find out about the "accident"?



You'd be AMAZED, as I was, at some cases. Ive heard stories of rapes and murders secret for 30 years. WOW! So yeah, it definitely is risky, but some folks do keep secrets. Ive also seen, and screamed at, cases where people are like "Well, I knew, but no one asked me, so I didnt say nothin" WTF?!?! "Well, I figured the police knew what they was doing" (face palm) Or they come forward when the one who threatened them dies, etc.

I do agree with you, however, I think it will eventually come out. Someone always breaks / snaps.


Oh and hey, let me ask you this, and I mean no disrespect at all, sometimes in writing it may come across as snotty, but did you watch the segment? Or maybe there was a shortened one? It just seems odd you are asking questions like "blow to the head" when there were several or was there alcohol when that indeed was covered.

I wasn't sure if you saw the Dennis Farina one which may have omitted it, or where you doing something else while watching it. You seemed to ask questions that were in the case.

Again, Im meaning that as a serious question, not mean. You very well may have not watched the same version that was on way back in the 90's. so I may have an advantage.

Man I wish we could watch those. There was a couple folks on YT (J.M I think it was. also Clint Brady, then Blint Crady lol )that uploaded ALL the old ones not on the dvds. Those are gone.

Anyway, thanks for letting me post. Your thoughts?

Nice post, XTremeInvestigator. One question for you...

Doesn't rigor mortis come on, peak, and then disappate? (Forgive my ignorance on this if I am way off base...) In other words, could he have been dumped there and had rigor set in, and then later go away, all while being in that location? I guess my real question is whether or not that can really help tell how long he had been there.

Thanks for all your comments. I like hearing more about this from a true scientific perspective.

Nice post, XTremeInvestigator. One question for you...

Doesn't rigor mortis come on, peak, and then disappate? (Forgive my ignorance on this if I am way off base...) In other words, could he have been dumped there and had rigor set in, and then later go away, all while being in that location? I guess my real question is whether or not that can really help tell how long he had been there.

Thanks for all your comments. I like hearing more about this from a true scientific perspective.

You are correct, Todd. There are a few stages of Rigor a body goes into. Again, depending on temperature, full Rigor can take 8-12 hours. Then roughly 72 hours, the muscles soften and joints unlock and can be moved.

However, don't forget, during this time, the body begins to decay immediately as well and that doesn't stop. So to your point, could rigor have passed, absolutely, but his skin color and texture, hair, and bloating would occur. Not to mention the biological gasses and odor.

Now I have not seen the crime scene photos, nor did the investigation mention that, so that's why I think Wecht suggested that he was alive for a while and died shortly before he was found.

Im not saying you are wrong, hell I could be wrong, I dunno. Im just saying I would think that if found after rigor had softened, his body would have been in the early stages of decaying.

When he was found, they mentioned that it looked like he was recently dead. The only thing that gave them pause was he was clean shaven when last seen, but had growth when found. Hair growth continues after death, however, his was of much greater length and volume than would have occurred post-mordemly.

Thank you for the compliments. I would not consider myself very scientific at all lol. Someone with a science background would need to chime in and correct me. I am only looking at this from an investigator POV.

I did read the book about a year ago, and it was a great read. I apologize in advance and prewarn that this post may be somewhat graphic.

One of the things that I can remember from the book was the condition of his, ugh, undergarments, when he was found. I believe the book said they were in pristine condition, which biologically would be abnormal following this alleged type of death. Additionally, there were no stains around the mouth (from vomit) that might have followed after one drinks high volumes of alcohol and dies.

I also believe the book discussed his facial hair, that growth was present when at his last sighting he was cleanly shaven. This point may have been mentioned on UM as well.

All of these factors made me question how LE could ignore these observations. Not to mention the toxicology results, which UM discussed.

On a side note, Jack's mother is still living. His brother who helped write the book with the author (Marlene Gentlicore) recently passed away. I believe this case is still solvable. I would be curious to know what/ if any statute of limitations existed at this time period for manslaughter.

It varies from state to state - Avg is usually 2 years. Diff than murder, which has none, due to malice / intent.

If Im reading PA law, I think it says none, as there isnt any. Cool, we can still punish if we solve this

Code Section

Tit. 42 §5551-5554

Felonies

Murder, manslaughter, voluntary manslaughter, conspiracy to murder, soliciting to commit murder and murder results, felony connected with 1st or 2nd degree murder, vehicular homicide: none

major offenses or conspiracy or solicitation to commit major offense: 5 yrs.

; others: 2 yrs.;

fraud or breach of fiduciary duty: 3 yrs.; official misconduct: 8 yrs.; sexual offense committed against a minor: period of limitations starts when minor reaches age 18; major sexual offenses: 12 years

Misdemeanors

2 yrs.; summary offenses: 30 days

Acts During Which Statute Does Not Run

Absent from state; no ascertainable residence or place of work within state; prosecution pending for same condu

So a guy is found dead at the bottom of a stairwell ... and the pathologist doesn't bother to check for skull fractures?!

Not sure if anyone is still posting to this thread.

I didn't know Jack but I attended IUP when he died. In the days he was missing, everyone was amazed that the police were not really looking for him.

As for the rain, I remember it was raining a lot in the days before they found him so it is very hard to believe that he wasn't wet. That stairwell was not covered so it would have been raining on his body for a day or so. It was not a light drizzle, but a soaking rain. The stairwell was outside of Weyandt Hall and while it wasn't too close to the street, I can't believe no one saw him from the windows.

I also remember that there was no real search for him until his family organized one. I think his friends at the time said he walked a girl back to her dorm and went missing on his way home. If that story was true (I don't think it was) and they had conducted a proper search from the point where he supposedly was last seen, they would have found him very quickly. The police speculated that he took off on a road trip and there was no urgency about finding him until his family started talking to the press. The police failed this kid and his family, big time.

I also believe that more than a few people know what really happened to him.

The rumor on campus was that after coming back to the house after drinking, the guys were playing Donkey Kong - not the video game - they would roll a keg of beer down a stairwell and they would try to jump over it. I heard that a very drunk Jack either fell or was clipped on the head by a bouncing keg. For whatever reason, they didn't take him to the hospital. Much was made about the frat fights that weekend, but the truth was that they were always fighting over something. The drinking at the frats was out of control on that campus.

Sad story all around. If someone out there knows something or did something, I hope they are found out. His family deserves closure.

He got his assed kicked at a frat party. Had to pee when he was getting home and totally fell and killed himself!! crazy stuff!!

Re: the JD Jr. case, it seems that he probably died the night/early morning that he was last seen alive; the death was covered up & the body was hidden; then, it was placed in the stairwell - probably not long before it was first seen. It obviously was not there for 5 days (unseen by anyone) on a busy college campus.

Re: the cause of death: I suspect either a fight or accident; another possibility is that he was murdered.

I agree there are obviously people out there who know what happened, but I don't see anyone coming forward in this case; though, who knows?! Some of these cases are resolved many years later.