'Spam King' found dead
Wife, 3-year-old slain after man's prison escape
By Tillie Fong, Rocky Mountain News (Contact), Carrie Porter, Rocky Mountain News
Published July 25, 2008 at 12:05 a.m.
Chris Schneider / The Rocky
Investigators remove a body from the scene of a murder-suicide near Bennett on Thursday. The three dead people were prison escapee Edward Davidson, his wife and 3-year-old daughter.
Chris Schneider / The Rocky
Arapahoe County deputy Michael Chick stands Thursday at the driveway leading to a home that was part of the scene of the murder-suicide.
Chris Schneider / The Rocky
A flatbed truck hauls away an SUV from the crime scene about 20 miles east of Denver.
Sunday night he pulled off a seamless escape from a prison in Florence, jumping into a 2006 silver Toyota Sequoia with his visiting wife and speeding away.
On Thursday morning, he drove to his wife's former home near Bennett and fatally shot her and his toddler daughter.
Then he killed himself.
He was Colorado's troubled "Spam King," a computer whiz who made millions only to see his life come crashing down, ending on a quiet basin of prairie.
Dirt roads carve the path to the yellow two-story house where police found the lifeless bodies of Edward Davidson, 35, and his wife and child, after responding to a call at 11:15 a.m.
Police cars and media trucks lined the 43000 block of East Arkansas Place by midafternoon, when the coroner arrived at the scene.
Wounded teen escapes
Davidson was found outside the driver's side of the vehicle, his wife by the passenger side.
A handgun lay nearby.
His dead 3-year-old daughter was in the back of the vehicle. A 7-month-old boy was strapped in his baby seat, unharmed.
One of Davidson's bullets grazed the neck of a 14-year-old girl, who neighbors said was Davidson's oldest daughter.
She escaped to a neighbor's home and was able to tell deputies what had happened before she was transported to a hospital. She was treated and released late Thursday.
"What a nightmare, and such a coward," said U.S. Attorney Troy Eid. "Davidson imposed the death penalty on family members for his own crime."
The U.S. Attorney's Office did not release the names of the wife and child, but records indicate that Davidson was married to Amy Lee Ann Hill, 29.
In prison for fraud
Davidson, 35, was sentenced April 28 to serve 21 months in federal prison for his role in sending hundreds of thousands of unsolicited fraudulent e-mails touting certain penny stocks as excellent investments.
On Sunday, Davidson escaped from a federal prison in Florence, after Hill, of Lakewood, had visited him.
Davidson allegedly jumped into Hill's vehicle and was last seen in Lakewood after dropping off Hill at her parents' home on South Fig Street.
The family did not live at the home where the vehicle was found Thursday, and Arapahoe County Undersheriff Mark Campbell notified the current homeowners, who were at work at the time.
The homeowners arrived on the scene with the coroner's staff before the bodies were removed.
According to neighbor Wendy Garner, Julie and Roger Cook moved into the yellow two-story home about seven months ago.
Many nearby neighbors did not know the residents of the home and were not aware that anything was amiss until they heard sirens.
Records show that Hill had once owned the home and sold it in October to the Cooks for nearly $500,000.
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July 25, 2008
2:31 a.m.
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happymike44 writes:
Another promising young child of god lost to evil.
I wonder if his wife knew how much danger they were in.
Also what sort of man destroyes his whole family over a few dollars.
Money can and does make life easier,don't let anyone else tell you otherwise.
But still he had a chance to be a decent father in this world.
I only pray his wife and child can rest in peace with the angels of the lord.
One never knows what evil looks like or when it will come knocking on ones doors.
May the surviving family members have god's blessings and support.
July 25, 2008
6:27 a.m.
Suggest removal
hdfresh writes:
Due to the wife's stupid mistake now you have a dead 3 yr old and possibly their teenage daughter. May they RIP.
July 25, 2008
7:51 a.m.
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ToeNee writes:
I feel sorry for the 3 year old.
July 25, 2008
8:11 a.m.
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FCZ writes:
Edward Davidson : bully and a coward.
July 25, 2008
8:56 a.m.
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rwmorrisonjr writes:
What a loser, killing his family for his own misdeeds. I feel sorry for all the children, two of whom are now orphans and one is dead. They survivors will be scarred forever because of this. I just hope that they have a caring extended family that will raise them properly.
The is shows how spineless the guy was, he couldn't even hack a 21 month sentence for spamming. Then again, he did commit a crime of fraud from afar using a computer, definitely the act of a coward.
July 25, 2008
12:29 p.m.
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steve00 writes:
Tragedies like this defy logic. I agree with happymike, the daughter is resting with Lord. What the wife was thinking helping him escape we will never really know. I would speculate he was truly evil and a master manipulator and had control of her somehow. He manipulated her into helping him and he killed her for it. God help us all.
July 25, 2008
12:50 p.m.
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LiverDude writes:
Coward. Glad he's gone. What a tragedy he took his wife and child with him.