UPDATE 8:00 p.m. 11/23/2020: The Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office said a 30-year-old cold case may finally be solved.
Detectives said they now have evidence linking a man to the 1990 murder of Sharon Gill. Gill was alone in her home on Rampart Boulevard in the Deep Creek community on March 21st, 1990 when a man broke in and stabbed her 39 times.
Detectives now say that man is 68-year-old Roland Davis. On Monday, we spoke with Gill’s daughter about finally being able to put a face to her mother’s suspected killer.
“I was in shock, but relieved," said Krista Gill.
Gill said she’s stayed in touch with detectives ever since her mother’s death three decades ago. It was a tiny piece of DNA evidence found on an item in her mother’s house that led detectives to Davis.
“This was a re-test of an item that had been previously submitted," said Detective Mike Vogel during a press conference Monday.
“Thank God for technology, and sometimes you just have to be patient," said Gill.
Detectives said Davis worked on a landscaping crew at one point that did work at Gill’s house, but other than that, there’s no connection. Krista said, that leads her to wonder, why did he do it?
We asked detectives if they had any idea what Davis' motive was.
"Honestly? No, other than he’s probably a psychopath," said Vogel.
“That’s the hard part now I have to deal with, my family has to deal with, is we’re never going to really know. A psychopath? That’s not enough answer for me, but it’s going to have to be, and I’m going to have to be okay with that," said Gill.
Davis is currently on death row in Ohio for killing another woman in the town of Newark back in 2000. Detectives said they will now be working with other departments to see if Davis is connected to any other cold cases.
“There may be other homicides between Florida and Ohio that we don’t know about or aren’t aware of yet," said Vogel.
“If he has committed other crimes, or other murders, I really pray and hope that the detectives are able to resolve those," said Gill.
Detectives said they’re continuing their investigation by trying to track down Davis’ contacts in Charlotte County. If you knew Davis, or know someone who did, give the Sheriff’s office a call at (941) 639-2101.
ORIGINAL STORY: The Charlotte County Sheriff's Office announced Monday it plans to charge 68-year-old Roland Davis of Newark, Ohio with the 1990 murder of Sharon Gill.
Gill was stabbed to death in her home on March 21, 1990. Her body was discovered by her daughter, Krista Gill, when she came home from school.
Davis is currently being held in the Chillicothe Correctional Institution in Ross County, Ohio. He was already on death row for the murder of an 86-year-old retired nurse in Newark, Ohio in 2000. An item discovered in Gill's home was tested for DNA samples by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, and Davis' DNA was found there.
The Sheriff's Office is still working to identify Davis' close contacts he had in Charlotte County. If you had any contact with Davis in the past, or know someone who has, you are asked to call the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office at (941) 639-2101.
