Thursday, May 5, 2005 | 11:12 a.m.
The day before someone kicked down the door of her Green Valley Ranch home and killed her, Jennifer Davis had called Coronado High School and left a message asking whether a non-custodial father could be barred from their school's graduation ceremony in June, a source close to the investigation told the Sun.
The source said Henderson Police went to Coronado on Wednesday and obtained a copy of the voice mail message, but police refused to confirm or deny that.
Police did say, however, that the 1:30 a.m. Wednesday attack that left Davis dead and sent her two teenage children to area hospitals was not a random attack.
Police said this morning that they were still trying to find a red or maroon older model Ford Escort hatchback that witnesses told them sped away from the Davis home in the 200 block of Camelback Ridge Avenue immediately after gunshots were heard.
No arrests had been reported in connection with the case as of this morning.
Police said they had already interviewed Jennifer Davis' ex-husband, Ron Hutton, Wednesday. According to county records, he apparently owns a home on Durango Station Drive about a half-mile away from the crime scene. Police had staked out the home for hours Wednesday.
The Sun could not reach Hutton for comment.
Detectives also questioned neighbors, relatives and others who knew the family, but had not reported any arrests as of Wednesday night. This morning, police were still at the home, near Paseo Verde Parkway and Desert Shadow Trail.
Neither Jennifer Davis nor her son have criminal records, police said. Because Jennifer Davis' daughter's name was not released and she is a juvenile, it was not clear whether she has had any run-ins with the law.
Jennifer Davis worked two jobs to support her family, neighbors said. One of her jobs was as an administrative assistant for the Clark County Health District's information technology department. She had held that position for about four years, the district noted in a press release.
"All of us who knew Jennifer appreciated her positive nature and upbeat personality," the district noted in an issued statement.
David Lavenduski said she had been a "very nice" neighbor.
"She told me she had had a tough divorce," Lavenduski said. "She said she felt very privileged to live in the neighborhood. She was very sweet."
Davis also recalled that a couple of weeks ago she had asked him for a favor.
"She asked if anything happened, could the kids call me," Lavenduski said.
Other neighbors also said she had talked of problems with her former husband, but Henderson Police said they have no record of her being involved in any incidents of domestic violence.
She and Hutton were married in December 1993 and divorced in October 1998. No divorce-related disputes, such as financial battles or restraining orders, turned up in a Sun search of court or police records.
Garrett Hammond, a 17-year-old neighbor who said he often played basketball with Christian Davis, said, "Christian told me there was a problem with his dad. He didn't see him very much."
But Sean Deleon, a junior at Coronado High School, said he, too, was friends with Davis and had never heard him talk of any family problems.
Deleon said he had noticed Chris was absent from their sixth-period history class Wednesday but didn't think much of it until their teacher made an announcement.
"He said Chris's mom was murdered, and Chris had been shot a bunch of times," Deleon said. "Everybody got real quiet for a second and then it was just crazy, a lot of gasps and people saying 'No way, no way.'th"
Sean Denny, also a junior at Coronado, said he and Chris often met at the Henderson Multigenerational Center on Paseo Verde to play basketball or lift weights. Chris, who is 6 feet 3 inches tall, was planning to enlist in the Air Force following graduation in June and is in excellent shape, Denny said.
"He's quiet but he's really smart," Denny said. "He's just a cool guy."
Coronado Principal Monte Bay said that was similar to the description teachers give for the teen.
"They all describe him as a pleasure to have in class. One even said Chris is a favorite," Bay said.
Wednesday afternoon, 16-year-old Coronado student Tara Davis, no relation to the victims, stood in front of the Davis home and wept as she covered her face.
"I didn't know who it was, then just now I saw the house," she said.
"It's really hard," she said. "He's my brother Ryan's best friend, and his mom was a sweet lady. She took my brother in. She was just the sweetest lady ever."
Her friend Desiree Hupp, 16, said, "We had no idea it was him. We can't even be safe here, of all places."
Neighbors called police after hearing multiple shots coming from the three bedroom, 1,282-square-foot house that the Davis family had rented last year.
Police found the front door forced open and Jennifer Davis dead. Christian Davis was taken to University Medical Center to be treated for gunshot wounds and his sister was taken to St. Rose Dominican Hospitals-Siena Campus, where she was released yesterday.
Detectives interviewed the girl, Rasmussen said, but declined to comment further.
Christian is expected to survive, though neighbors said they heard Christian Davis may not be able to walk as a result of his injuries. UMC officials refused to release any information about him Wednesday and would not even confirm that he was a patient there, citing a federal medical privacy law.
The violence rocked the quiet neighborhood, where residents said crime rarely occurs.
Jill Gardner, who lives across the street, said she was awake when the shootings occurred and even heard the shots, but she thought they were fireworks.
"I should have known," she said. "My dog is used to fireworks, and even he was shaking. I really wish I'd been able to see something."
Bernerd Zancanella, who lives next door to the victims' house, said Jennifer Davis was friendly but kept to herself.
Walking home yesterday, 15-year-old Joey Lopez said he played basketball at a local park with Christian.
"I was surprised that this happened because I just saw him yesterday," he said. "Everyone feels bad about it."
Wednesday morning animal control officers arrived at the house to collect the family dog, who appeared unharmed.
Jennifer Davis' body was removed from the house about 2:30 p.m., more than 12 hours after she had been killed.
Rick Workman, criminalistics administrator with Henderson Police, explained that the entire house, which has tile flooring, was being treated as a crime scene. Evidence -- such as footprints and fingerprints -- must be taken from the floors, walls, surfaces and furniture, and any shell casings must be collected before the body could be removed, he said.
"When you work with tile it provides additional evidence, and it extends our process," he said.
People who knew the family said they hoped police obtained whatever evidence they needed to quickly arrest and prosecute whoever was responsible for the attack.
A former neighbor of the Davis family, Diana Maeda, said Jennifer Davis "was really quiet, and Christian was never late for a curfew. He was an honor roll student, and he always stuck up for little kids in the neighborhood."
She said she and her 17-year-old son, Stephen, planned to go to UMC to see if they would be allowed to visit him.
"He needs his friends more than ever now," Diana Maeda said. "He just lost his mother."
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