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Beloved Brooksville teacher's murder trial begins after five years

 
Sarah Davis, 80, spent 30 years teaching many residents of south Brooksville.
Sarah Davis, 80, spent 30 years teaching many residents of south Brooksville.
Published June 4, 2015

BROOKSVILLE — The evening of Friday, May 14, 2010, began like any other for Sarah Davis, Assistant State Attorney Rick Buxman said Wednesday in Hernando County Circuit Court.

The 80-year-old Davis made dinner and put curlers in her hair, Buxman said.

"But this night was not like any other night. On this night, Sarah Davis had her head beside the tub, lying in her own blood, having been stabbed by this man, Byron Burch," he told jurors, pointing to the defense table during opening statements in Burch's trial.

Burch, a crack cocaine addict with a long rap sheet, had done handywork for the retired south Brooksville teacher earlier that day. Now 44, he is on trial in connection with her slaying. If convicted of first-degree murder, he could face the death penalty.

Law enforcement officers found Davis the next morning, after a niece hadn't heard from her and grew concerned. Davis had been cut or stabbed more than 20 times, Buxman said, including lacerations to her neck that sliced through crucial blood vessels. The medical examiner ruled her death a homicide.

Burch's attorney, Tania Alavi, contended in her opening statement he didn't do it. She said that after Burch did the work for Davis, she paid him and he left to go buy cigarettes and more crack.

She said Burch's first reaction when detectives told him Davis had been killed was to ask them who would want to hurt her.

"While Byron did steal, while Byron did do drugs, he did not kill Ms. Davis," Alavi told the jury.

Davis was a beloved figure in the city, having taught many of south Brooksville's residents during her 30-year tenure, much of it at Moton School, which at one time was the only African-American school in Hernando County. After her retirement, she stayed active in the community, volunteering with her church, Bethlehem Progressive Baptist, leading the neighborhood's crime watch and working at a Sheriff's Office substation.

In 2012, the city officially renamed Newgate Street after Davis. The shady one-block Sarah F. Davis Drive sits around the corner from Davis' home on St. Francis Street.

It took five days for attorneys to settle on a jury, and court officials estimated the trial will take about two weeks. A trial date had been set for 2012, but was postponed when Burch was assigned a new attorney.

Contact Josh Solomon at (813) 226-3446 or jsolomon@tampabay.com. Follow @josh_solomon15.