TAMPA, Fla. – A man accused of torturing a Florida man to death and robbing him has avoided the death penalty by pleading guilty just days before his a trial was set to begin.
Keith Earl Davis, 47, pleaded guilty to murder in Hillsborough County court on Monday in exchange for a life sentence, the Tampa Bay Times reported. Prosecutors were seeking the death penalty if the case went before a jury.
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William Leslie McGoff, a 53-year-old registered nurse, was found dead in his Tampa home in December 2016 after friends called the police because he didn't show up for work at LifePath Hospice.
Police found the home ransacked and McGoff’s naked body in a bedroom. Investigators said his neck, wrists and ankles were bound with wire. He had been stabbed, and a pillowcase had been shoved in his throat. McGoff’s wallet, cellphone and car were gone.
Cellphone records revealed that Davis was one of the last people McGoff connected with. His credit cards were used to buy gas in northern Florida and Mississippi. His car was abandoned in east Texas.
Davis was eventually arrested by police in Sulphur, Louisiana. His DNA and fingerprints were found in McGoff’s house and car.