Man pleads guilty to abduction, strangling of 8-year-old
Jessica Lunsford killer sentenced to die
Associated Press
Published: April 17, 2008
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) -- A man admitted Thursday that he strangled an 8-year-old neighbor after abducting the girl and sexually molesting her in the woods.
Joshua Davis, 22, apologized softly to the family of Savannah Smith after pleading guilty to first-degree murder, kidnapping of a minor and child molestation. But he said he knew an apology wasn't good enough.
Davis faces a possible sentence of life in prison without parole - the toughest punishment available in Rhode Island, which does not have the death penalty.
Davis was a neighbor of Smith's family in Woonsocket, and his girlfriend was an occasional baby sitter for them. Prosecutors say Davis took Smith from a park near her home on May 7, 2006, and strangled her.
Her naked body was found the next morning in Cranston.
Several members of Smith's family sobbed and clutched each other as prosecutor Bethany Macktaz recited the facts of the case.
She said Davis drove Smith to Cranston, carried her through a glass- and debris-covered wooded area, sexually assaulted her, strangled her, beat her in the head and left her body under a tree.
"Her body was under the tree because the defendant attempted to hide Savannah Smith," Macktaz said.
Davis pleaded guilty to avoid putting her family through a trial, his lawyer, public defender John Hardiman, told the judge.
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