LAKE COUNTY — A murder conviction was upheld in the District 1 Court of Appeals Wednesday for Nathan Davison, who was convicted in November 2005 of a cold-case murder in the death of Clearlake Oaks resident Tracy Lyons.
Lyons was the stepfather of Nathan Davison”s former wife, Jillian Davison. According to Lake County District Attorney Jon Hopkins, who tried the case, the appeal hinged on the claim that Nathan Davison”s Lakeport defense attorney, Doug Rhoades, did not do a thorough investigation. Hopkins said because no body and no evidence were found, the case was delayed for seven years before going to trial.
“The conviction was more of a stretch than is often the case,” Lakeport defense attorney Mitchell Hauptman said.
Before the conviction was appealed, Hauptman made an unsuccessful motion for Nathan Davison to have a new trial in August 2006. A prior trial ended in a hung jury.
Hopkins said the appeal was based on the claim that if Rhoades had done a full investigation, he would have found friends and family members who would say Jillian Davison made statements that were inconsistent with her testimony about what happened to Lyons.
“The ex-wife (Jillian Davison) testified during the trial that she had hidden the knowledge she had of the killing by the defendant because she was afraid of him at points and in love with him, and not sure what would happen to her if she said anything,” Hopkins said.
Without having seen the judge”s opinion on Wednesday evening after the ruling was handed down, Hopkins said he believed Jillian Davison”s admission that she covered up the murder was not grounds to overturn the 2005 verdict.
Hopkins said Nathan Davison shot and killed Lyons because he had molested Jillian Davison, his stepdaughter, when she was a child. Although a revolver, a 55-gallon barrel and a chainsaw Jillian Davison testified her ex-husband used to kill Lyons and to dispose of his body were never found, Nathan Davison was convicted and sentenced to 45 years to life in prison.
“The evidence was very slim. Mr. Davis, to his last moment here before he was carted off to prison insisted on his innocence,” Hauptman said.
Contact Tiffany Revelle at trevelle@record-bee.com.
