Eddie Davidson lured his wife and a daughter to their deaths Thursday by promising that he just wanted to see his family before turning himself in after escaping from a federal work camp, according to an Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office report released Friday. Two other children survived.
When Amy Lee Ann Hill arrived at a Home Depot at Smoky Hill and Gun Club roads, Davidson moved her from the driver’s seat of the Toyota sport utility vehicle and started to drive toward their former home south of Bennett.
Davidson’s 16-year-old daughter recounted her family’s final moments for deputies Thursday after Davidson shot her in the neck. She said she managed to escape only by running in a “zig-zag” until she reached the home of an off-duty Denver police officer.
While on the way to University of Colorado Hospital, where she was listed in stable condition, the teen told authorities:
On Sunday, she, Hill, 29, 3-year-old Bailey McDaniel and her 7-month-old brother, whose name was removed from the report, drove to Florence to visit Davidson at the minimum-security work camp there.
Davidson, who was serving a 21-month sentence for tax evasion and computer crimes, was known as Colorado’s “Spam King,” responsible for bombarding computers worldwide with stock solicitations.
As they were walking to the vehicle to leave, Davidson, 35, pushed Amy into the vehicle and told the kids to get in “so he could escape from prison.”
Davidson drove to Lakewood and dropped the teen, Hill and the children with Hill’s parents and left. Hill later reported the escape to Lakewood police, who notified the prison but otherwise took no action because they believed no crime had been committed in Lakewood, according to spokesman Steve Davis.
Something seemed wrong
On Thursday, Davidson called Hill. He told his wife that he wanted to turn himself in but wanted to meet with her and the kids first.
Though she was apprehensive, Hill did what Davidson asked, bringing the 16-year-old, the 7-month-old and Bailey to pick him up at Home Depot.
As soon as he climbed into the SUV, the 16-year-old knew something was wrong. He pushed Hill out of the driver’s seat. But he still insisted that the Kohl’s bag he carried contained presents for the family.
As they drove east, he asked his wife and the teen to talk about the happy times they had together.
But as they neared the home near Bennett where they lived until last year, Davidson pulled out a .45-caliber handgun and placed the barrel in his mouth, then pointed it at his head.
The teen and Hill both told him, “No, Eddie, we love you. Don’t do it.”
As they arrived at the home at 43042 Arkansas Place, Davidson got out of the driver’s side and pointed the gun at Hill. She tried to grab the gun and he fired, hitting her in the head.
He then turned the gun on the teen in the back seat and fired, hitting her in the neck as she ducked.
She believes Davidson thought she was dead, but she watched as he shot and killed 3-year-old Bailey, still strapped in her car seat.
The teen opened the door, kicked off her shoes and ran about a quarter- mile until she reached the home of the off-duty Denver officer and told him what had happened. She said she saw Davidson looking at her and ran in a zig zag for fear he would shoot at her again. Instead, it appears he saved the last bullet for himself.
Gunshot wounds
When deputies arrived, they found Amy Hill on the ground outside the passenger door and Davidson on the ground outside the driver’s side door. The handgun lay by him. There were no more bullets in the chamber or magazine.
In the back seat, the 7-month-old was in his car seat, unharmed.
Bailey was still strapped in her car seat and was dead from a gunshot wound. Authorities found her report card from preschool just outside the car door.
Autopsies determined that Bailey, Hill and Davidson all died of gunshot wounds to the head.
Davidson, Hill and their children lived in Lakewood on a quiet cul-de-sac, over the past several months, after his legal troubles forced them from their former home.
The owner of the Lakewood home who rented it to Davidson declined comment Friday.
A man who answered the door at Hill’s parents’ home, near the rental house and also in Lakewood, also declined to talk Friday.
Lakewood neighbors said the family was quiet and mostly kept to themselves.
Some neighbors interviewed Friday said they were unaware of Davidson’s troubles with the law.
“It’s pretty unbelievable,” said neighbor Jonathan Dion. “I’m just totally shocked by it.”
