‘He shot him in the third eye’

Jury sees police interview in Taylor murder trial

By MARSHA DORGAN
Register Staff Writer

Before any witness had testified that Alex Taylor confessed to killing a 62-year-old Napa man, his attorney point blank told the jury on Tuesday that his client admitted to detectives he fatally shot the victim in his north Napa home.

“Didn’t Alex Taylor tell you that George Davis was a devil worshiper? He said he shot him in the third eye,” defense attorney Jess Raphael asked Napa Police detective Don Winegar, who was on the witness stand.

Raphael was referring to a police interview between Winegar and Taylor the day Davis’ body was found.

“Yes,” Winegar replied.

During an interview with Winegar on April 24, 2007, Taylor, 26, told him that Davis was into witchcraft. He said Davis worshiped the devil and made reference to symbols, such as the third eye, which is associated with Lucifer.

Davis was shot at least three times in the head, with one of the bullets lodging in the bridge of his nose.

On Tuesday the jury was shown a video of the remainder of the three-hour interview between Winegar and Taylor, who at that time had not been arrested for Davis’ murder.

Taylor said he suffers from schizophrenia and hears voices. He said the voices produce rage, causing him to rant and rave.

During the interview, Taylor frequently twisted his arm to rub his back, touched his face, twitched, scratched and rubbed his face, ears and neck.

At one point when Winegar left the room, leaving Taylor alone, Taylor began talking as if he was addressing someone standing next to him.

“Man will you shut up? Stop doing that. Stop touching me,” he said.

Another time when Winegar was asking him questions, Taylor became very agitated and began stomping his foot, saying, “Get off my foot.”

Winegar asked him if he killed Davis.

“Why would I whack him in his own apartment? We used to go to Green Island Road and practice witchcraft. If I was going to whack him I could have done it there ... got rid of the body and the evidence,” Taylor said.

He also insisted he had no motive and did not own a working gun.

Winegar asked Taylor what his relationship was with Davis, probing to find out if he had some grudge to kill him. The two met when Taylor was 16.

“He helped me out when I was in high school. He helped me later, teaching me spells and magic,” Taylor said. “We cared for each other.”

Taylor told Winegar he was pretty sure he knew who killed Davis. He said some years ago, Davis had put a curse on a man, causing him to drive his car off a cliff. He said some time later, a man approached him and Davis at the Safeway in Napa.

Taylor said he believed the man was a relative of the person who drove off the cliff and was out for revenge. He said the man followed he and Davis back to Davis’ apartment.

Taylor told Winegar that Davis wanted to die and tried to commit suicide, but failed. He said Davis tried to overdose on aspirin, but survived because he only took eight pills.

“George did not enjoy life. He weighed 350 pounds. He couldn’t walk. His knees buckled. He had no social life,” Taylor said. “He said he wanted to die.”

“Did George ask you to kill him?” Winegar asked.

“Once. But I wouldn’t do it.”

Taylor said when the voices inside him would be yelling and harassing him, Davis would do black magic using a crystal ball attached to a chain. He said the anger and rage would transfer to the crystal ball.

After Davis was found, detectives searched his apartment on Redwood Road and found photos of men without their shirts on.

“Was George into young men?” Winegar asked.

“That’s news to me. I asked him if he ever had any sexual thoughts about me. He said ‘no.’ And I said ‘that’s OK.’”

During the final interview the day Davis’ body was found, Taylor told detectives where the (murder) weapon was, Winegar testified on Tuesday.

He led detectives to a shed on Bueno Court in west Napa, where the weapon was located, Winegar said.

Davis’ body was discovered on April 24, 2007, by an acquaintance. Investigators believe Davis had been dead a couple of days.

Taylor has pleaded not guilty. If found guilty Raphael will argue that his client is not guilty by reason of insanity.

If found guilty, Taylor is facing 25 year to life in state prison.

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