"Thomas Cullen Davis (born September 22, 1933, Fort Worth, Texas) is an American oil heir and member of a prominent oil family. Davis is best known for standing trial, and being acquitted, twice in the 1970s, first for the murders of two people at the home of his estranged wife Priscilla on August 2, 1976, and the second two years later for conspiring to murder the judge in his divorce proceedings against Priscilla. At the time of his first trial, Davis was the wealthiest man to have stood trial for murder in the United States. The prosecution alleged in his murder trial that he forced his 12-year-old step-daughter Andrea Wilborn into the basement of Davis' Stonegate Mansion, making her kneel before shooting her dead, and also shot Priscilla's live-in boyfriend Stan Farr, a former basketball star at nearby Texas Christian University. A Texas jury found him not guilty of the murders. The girl was the daughter of his second wife, whom he was in the process of divorcing.
Thomas Cullen Davis was born on September 22, 1933, in Fort Worth. His wealth, which at the time of the trial was estimated at over $100 million ($430 million today), was inherited from his father who founded KenDavis Industries International, Inc. Davis had a reputation in Fort Worth society circles for displays of bad temper and general ""creepiness"", according to female associates. Davis' second marriage was to Priscilla Lee Childers. They were married on August 29, 1968, only hours after the death of his father. It was her third marriage, and she had one daughter, Andrea Wilborn, from her second marriage.
In 1972, Davis spent $6 million ($35 million today) to build Stonegate Mansion, a five-bedroom, 11-bath mansion with an indoor pool and a 2,000-square-foot (190 m2) master bedroom. In its prime, the luxurious, contemporary home of courtyards, tunnels, and balconies at 4100 Mockingbird Lane was decorated with more than 100 oil paintings. The mansion was designed by Albert S. Komatsu and Associates.
Davis and Childers separated in 1974 and both began dating other people openly. On August 2, 1976, shortly after a judge had granted a considerable increase in the support Davis had to pay Childers, an intruder entered Stonegate Mansion and killed 12-year-old Andrea, who was home alone after returning from a Bible study. The body of Andrea would later be found in the basement, apparently shot execution-style. When Childers and her then-boyfriend, Stan Farr, returned home, both were shot. Farr died at the scene. Childers staggered from the house being pursued by the killer as two family friends, Beverly Bass and Gus Gavrel, Jr., drove up to the mansion. The killer shot Gavrel, paralyzing him for life.
Childers identified Davis to police, saying he had shot her and Farr, wearing no disguise except a wig. Gavrel said he was shot after his companion recognized the gunman as Davis and called him by name. Police arrested Davis at the home he shared with his then-girlfriend, and future
