LOS ANGELES (CNS) – The California Supreme Court refused Wednesday to review the case of a man convicted of fatally stabbing a man 45 times in an El Monte motel room more than four decades ago.
Anthony Davis — who is serving a state prison sentence of seven years to life — was found guilty of first-degree murder in September 2022 for the Jan. 7, 1978, slaying of Rudolfo Chavez.
In a ruling last December, a state appeals court panel rejected the defense’s contention that there was insufficient evidence against Davis to support deliberate and premeditated murder.
“Davis argues that the evidence supports his mere presence in the motel room. But Davis was the actual killer,” the three-justice appellate court panel found in its 48-page ruling. “The substantial evidence to support this determination centers around the physical and scientific evidence.”
The panel noted that Davis’ fingerprints were found in the room at the Spic and Span motel, where the 42-year-old victim’s body was found a day after the killing, and that his DNA was detected in a semen stain on the bedspread in the room, along with Chavez’s DNA.
“Based on these facts, the jury could reasonably infer that Davis engaged in some form of sexual activity in the company of Chavez. Further, Chavez’s clothing did not contain any damage from the stabbings, supporting the inference that he was stabbed to death while unclothed,” according to the ruling.
The motive for the attack was not clear, Deputy District Attorney Sarika Kim said after Davis’ conviction.
Davis, now 65, has remained behind bars since his arrest by Los Angeles County sheriff’s investigators in February 2021.
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