Columbia police reveal new details in 1994 unsolved murder of Virginia ‘Ginger’ Davis
Meghan Drakas
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
Columbia police are revealing new details about the unsolved case of Virginia ‘Ginger’ Davis.
Police say on the morning of June 6, 1994, authorities found Davis inside her home at 1508 Patsy Lane in only her underwear with a plastic bag over her head.
According to a 1994 media release, a neighbor called authorities and asked for a welfare check after she noticed one of Davis’ five dogs was left outside all night. That neighbor reported that Davis would never leave one of her dogs outside overnight and she had not seen Davis since June 3.
The Columbia Police Department media release from then states officers found the home was locked. Officers entered the home by removing a screen and entering through an open window.
CPD Lt. Matt Gremore confirmed to ABC 17 News recently, there were two holes cut into the screen and her purse was found inside the home.
Autopsy report
An autopsy report on June 7, 1994, revealed there was a binding mark around the neck, impact to her head and other bruises. The cause of death was labeled as suffocation.
“She had blunt force trauma to the head as well as the bag,” Gremore said. “My theory would be that the bag was absolutely a weapon that was used, but I don’t know if that was the only thing that was used.”
Gremore said police have never identified the object used to cause the injuries to her head.
Gremore revealed new details and said the plastic bag was tied with a bathrobe belt found inside Davis’ home. He said the plastic bag was also linked to prior purchase made by Davis, but would not say if the bag had any identifiable markings on it.
Gremore said evidence of a sexual assault is still not determined. Davis was also found with bruises on her arms and legs, which may have been caused during her last moments.
“There’s evidence to make you think that there were some defensive wounds there, that there was a fight that took place,” Gremore said.
The autopsy report labels the death as a homicide.
Two days after determining Davis’s death was a homicide, CPD reported the information generated an increase in calls from residents. Police asked for assistance from the Mid-Missouri Major Case Squad earlier this month, bringing the total number of investigators on the case to 12.
Early life
Ginger Davis was born in 1950 and was one of four children. She grew up in Mid-Missouri and attended Hallsville High School.
Marceil Flatt was neighbors with the family and graduated alongside Davis in 1968. Flatt said she was a little quiet but she was friends with everyone.
“She had horses and we would ride the horses together,” Flatt said. “That was so much fun having neighbors like that.”
Hallsville School District R-4 Class of 1968 Photo. Marceil Flatt pictured as last photo in the top row, formerly Marceil Nolte. Ginger Davis is seen as fourth person from left in fourth row. (Credit: Marceil Flatt)
She described Davis as being a fun and giggly young girl who loved animals. Her family was also involved in 4-H.
“They sewed, made their own clothes,” Flatt said. “That just stayed with her all of her life. One of the things her and her mother did together was they had a rock tumbler or stone tumbler and they tumbled stones and then made jewelry with those.”
Later in life, Davis moved to Colorado where she got married and divorced twice. One of Davis’ cousins, Kathryn Ruble, said she married into the Native American culture and sometimes wore clothing reflective of this.
Virginia ‘Ginger’ Davis, date unknown (Credit: Shawn Patrick)
Ruble said Davis was eventually diagnosed with Lupus, which became a strain on her marriage and she moved back to Mid-Missouri to be closer to her mother. Her nephew Shawn Patrick said the two often enjoyed quilting together and was a part of a group in the Columbia area.
“It affected my grandma, her mom,” Patrick said. “It devastated her. My grandma outlived all of her own kids and she was closest with Ginger.”
More than three decades later, Patrick is still in disbelief over what happened to his aunt.
“After we found out how she was killed, that shocked us even more,” Patrick said. “It hit hard for a lot of our family, because we just couldn’t believe that anybody could do that to anybody, but especially to our own family,” Patrick said.
ABC 17 News at the time reported neighbors described Davis as a friendly woman who offered help to a neighbor while he was moving in. That was despite the fact she had Lupus and at times used a wheelchair.
Decades later
In January 2023, CPD announced it reopened the case and sent evidence off for additional testing.
Gremore told ABC 17 News there was DNA evidence collected at the scene in 1994 that was from another person.
“In this case, there is DNA,” Gremore said. “But we don’t have enough information to say whose DNA it is.”
But Gremore revealed to ABC 17 News the DNA profile is of a male. He said it’s possible the killer had injuries from the attack.
“It’s hard to know if there was something that lead up to this, if the house had been cased or if this was a spontaneous build where it’s decided to go and do this,” Gremore said. “But my gut feeling says this was probably something that was thought out.”
Authorities investigate Virginia ‘Ginger’ Davis homicide scene on June 6, 1994 on Patsy Lane in Columbia.
After Davis died, her nephew helped clean out the small blue home on Patsy Lane.
“The main thing I remember from cleaning out, seeing all the fingerprint dust all over the place. I mean it was just everywhere,” Patrick said. “That’s what stuck out in mind of just the amount of the black powder all over the place.”
Patrick hopes one day, the person who killed his aunt will be held accountable.
“I believe it would give us some closure,” Patrick said. “I mean, it’s been so long. Our feeling are kind of numb to it now, but actually knowing who did it….just getting that closure, knowing who it was and if they are still alive, finding out why, you know, why did they do this.”
Ruble says she would also like to see the person who hurt Davis to be brought to justice.
“We would like to see the person or persons be arrested, brought [to] trial and found guilty. No matter what sentence the court give[s] out,” Ruble said. “They’re going to have to stand in front of God on judgement day. He will have the last word. No matter how much time that person would receive, it [can] not bring back our beloved Ginger and the beauty she brought to this world.”