Richard Davis Case Study

In August 2008, Richard Davis, of Independence, Missouri, was convicted in the kidnapping, rape, and torture of Michelle Huff-Ricci and the kidnapping, rape, and first-degree murder of Marsha Spicer (Rice, 2012). One might be quick to assume that Davis is deranged and that no further explanation can be given. However, Sigmund Freud’s Psychopathy Theory may provide an explanation, though not an excuse, for Davis’s actions.
The Case against Davis
On May 15, 2006, a woman’s nude body was found outside Bates City, Missouri. The woman had been raped, beaten, and choked, and was later identified as Marsha Spicer. After hearing this news, an old friend of Spicer’s, Lorie Dunfield, paid a visit to the police. Dunfield reported that three months earlier, she had been sexually involved with Richard Davis and he asked her to participate in his “sexual fantasy.” She stated that this fantasy involved killing women and, more specifically, suffocating women while having three-way sex. Davis told her that he wanted to videotape these acts. Dunfield declined his offer but failed to report the occurrence out of fear that Davis would harm her

He explained that he had met Dena Riley while working at a factory in Kansas City several months before the crimes were committed. Riley was a meth addict that had spent time in jail and on the streets, even dabbling in prostitution. She was seemingly perfect for Davis, a previously convicted rapist that had spent nearly eighteen years in prison and still considered himself a ladies’ man. Riley was the first to agree to partake in Davis’s aforementioned “sexual fantasy” (Krajicek, 2007). Both Riley and Davis admitted to their crimes and willingly exposed the details of the murders. It was confirmed that after Davis smothered Huff-Ricci, Davis and Riley burned Huff-Ricci’s body and disposed of the remains in Clay County (Wafer,