FOND DU LAC, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — Gary Davis pleaded not guilty Tuesday to killing his girlfriend.
Davis, 57, faces three charges, including first-degree intentional homicide, for the November death of Jacquelyn Jo Rooney. No trial date was set. Davis returns to court June 15 for a status conference, court records show.
Rooney, 51, was reported missing Nov. 12 after not showing up at a clinic for several days. Police found her car outside a bar — which Davis allegedly moved to that location — before going to her residence on Merrill Avenue.
Police entered her apartment, but the officer “stated that he wasn’t able to initially locate the Victim’s body upon entering her apartment because of blankets and debris on top of her. Officer Provot explained that the Victim’s body was wrapped up in blankets and in the fetal position while wearing multi-colored shoes,” the complaint states.
Rooney died of a dozen stab wounds to the torso and blunt force trauma to the head, including three skull fractures, an autopsy revealed. It’s believed she was killed on Nov. 9.
Davis and Rooney were dating and lived in the same apartment building, the complaint states.
Davis initially denied moving Rooney’s vehicle, despite surveillance video from businesses showing he did. Davis also did not tell police about all of the phone calls and messages between them in the time leading up to the murder.
“Davis also acknowledged to moving the Victim’s vehicle to the Somewhere Bar parking lot but denied recalling how he obtained the keys for the Victim’s vehicle or how the keys were returned to the Victim’s purse in her locked apartment after he moved the car,” the complaint states.
The complaint also cites several people who said the two were having troubles with their relationship and that Davis had physically attacked her in the past.
The mayhem charge relates to allegations Davis cut one of Rooney’s limbs, according to the court document.
