Houston, TX — location anchor for the case — Credit: CC BY 2.0
Background
Diane Maxwell was a 25-year-old phone operator for Southwestern Bell, born in 1944, living and working in Houston, Texas.
The Crime
On December 14, 1969, Maxwell was walking to her job as a phone operator but never arrived. Later that day, a man named William Bell noticed another man walking away from a shack in the area. When Bell went to investigate the shack, he discovered Maxwell's injured body and immediately notified police.
Initial Investigation and Delays
The case went unsolved for many years, a situation attributed to the lack of computer technology available at the time to process forensic evidence. In 1986, seventeen years after the crime, investigators reopened the case but were still unable to solve it, and the investigation was again closed.
Reopening and Resolution
The case remained closed until July 2003, thirty-three years after the murder. Houston police located a batch of forensic evidence that had been collected in 1969. Using this evidence, investigators identified James Ray Davis, a man with a lengthy criminal history who had most recently been convicted of kidnapping a young girl, as a suspect in the Maxwell rape and murder. DNA evidence confirmed that Davis had raped Maxwell. Davis was subsequently convicted of murder with malice and sentenced to life in prison.
Aftermath
James Ray Davis died in prison three years after his 2003 conviction, placing his death around 2007.
Media Coverage
In 2008, the case was featured in an episode of the television series Forensic Files titled "Brotherly Love."
The primary detailed account of this case comes from a Wikipedia article.
Diane Maxwell, a 25-year-old Houston phone operator, was raped and killed in December 1969 while walking to work. The case went unsolved for over three decades until 1969 forensic evidence was matched to a convicted criminal in 2003, leading to a murder conviction.
Where did the murder happen?
Houston, Texas, United States.
Who was convicted?
James Ray Davis (Convicted of murder with malice in connection with the 1969 rape and killing of Diane Maxwell; sentenced to life in prison; died in prison in 2007.).
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