POLAND — A West Virginia man already in jail on a murder charge has been charged in the 2014 shooting death of Timothy “Asti” Davison, according to news and social media reports.
Davison, 28, of Poland, was traveling north on Interstate 81 at about 2:10 a.m. Jan. 4, 2014, when he reported to police that he was being chased and shot at by someone in a Ford Ranger-style truck, according to Pennsylvania State Police.
Davison was returning home to Maine after visiting family in Florida when he was killed.
On Monday, the District Attorney in Franklin County, Pennsylvania, announced John Wayne Strawser Jr., 38, who is being held on charges related to the slaying of a woman earlier this year, was also being charged with Davison’s murder.
A Facebook page set up by Davison’s family and friends announced the arrest without naming Strawser early Monday.
“Good news! The Pennsylvania State Police have identified the killer and will be having a news conference at 2:00 p.m. today,” an update on the page read. “Rest easy that the killer is off the streets. I will post more when I can. Thank you all for your continued support and perseverance in not giving up. Our entire family thanks you!”
Davison’s mother, Theresa Allocca of Poland, later told a Pennsylvania television station, CBS 21 News, she never doubted her son’s killer would be found.
“I never doubted it, not once, I always knew that eventually the person would be found,” Allocca said. “I didn’t know how long it would take, but I knew it would come.”
Allocca also said it bothered her that her son’s killer also killed another person afterward and that may have been prevented had the tipsters that came forward recently contacted police immediately following her son’s death.
She said the most troubling part of what she learned from the documents released by authorities on Monday was that it appeared her son was not the specific target of Strawser and it wasn’t a result of road rage or gang-related violence.
“I think the fact that it was just such a senseless murder,” Allocca said. “It was just being in the wrong place at the wrong time and it bothers me that people waited a year and a half to come forward and someone else had to die in the meantime.”
According to the release from the office of District Attorney Matthew Fogal, a tip from a couple who believed Strawser may have intended to attack them and instead mistakenly attacked Davison lead them to Strawser.
Police were notified that Strawser may have mistaken Davison’s silver-colored Mitsubishi Montero for their silver Honda. The couple told police they had a volatile relationship with Strawser, and they too were driving northbound on the same highway and believed Strawser was coming after them the night Davison was shot.
The investigation also determined that Strawser had painted his dark-blue 1997 Ford Ranger black and green and that the vehicle had been outfitted with new parts.
A friend of Strawser’s also led police to a field where a .44 caliber Rossi Ranch Hand pistol was found hidden in a box. A shell casing found at the crime scene where Davison was killed was matched to the pistol, by the state’s crime lab, according to the detailed release.
Strawser had also posted photos of the firearm and of his truck with different paint jobs on his Facebook page, the release from Fogal stated.
GPS data from Davison’s truck also helped investigators who were able to determine his average speed increased from just under 80 miles per hour to over 100 miles per hour in the moments just before he was shot to death by Strawser, police said.
The release also stated other evidence, including DNA and gunpowder residue collected from the crime scene, also linked Strawser to Davison’s murder.
In May, Strawser was charged with murder in the April shooting death of Amy Lou Buckingham, 37, of Tunnelton, W.Va.
According to local media reports, Buckingham was found lying in the driveway of her home and pronounced dead at the scene.
Police later arrested Strawser at his residence in Terra Alta, W. Va., after a car chase that ended with a fiery crash, which he fled on foot from.
Davison’s family Monday issued a statement to thank investigators and law enforcement in Pennsylvania and West Virginia via a family-run website that had previously been set up to offer a reward and solicit tips in the case.
In July, his family was offering a $62,000 reward for information that would lead to his killer.
Davison’s longtime friend, Theresa Hemond, of Minot, said the news on Strawser being charged Monday was welcomed, but she was still mourning her friend’s death.
“I’m still hurting about (Davison’s) death and I probably will be for the rest of my life. I am excited that they caught someone and I am very happy for the police departments that are involved,” Hemond said. “The (charge) doesn’t really change a whole lot for me. The only thing that comes from all this is that this person won’t take someone else away from their family and friends like they did to Asti.”
During a news conference later Monday, police in Pennsylvania said Strawser would likely first face trial for the murder in West Virginia in April before going on trial in Pennsylvania.
Bangor Daily News Staff Writer Julia Bayly contributed to this report.
Murder Complaint Filed Against “I-81 Shooter” by sunjournal
Affidavit of Probable Cause John Wayne Strawser
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