GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A wallet. The contents of a man's pockets. And some other personal property.
That was the motive for a bloody killing on Shelton Avenue in Grand Rapids back in 1985.
A friend hadn't heard from 48-year-old Burnett Frierson, and that's when he was found stabbed to death in his living room.
Forensics technicians found drops of blood in several areas of Frierson's house, including his bedroom, kitchen and bathroom. But it wasn't his.
Detectives at the time sent some of that blood to a lab to get tested. No dice. Authorities put that blood sample believed to be the suspect's into the national Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), where it laid dormant.
Investigators got a match in August.
Grand Rapids Police said 68-year-old Ronald Davis was arrested on an unrelated felony. Michigan law now requires those facing felony charges to give a DNA sample.
Detectives now believe they have their man.
The alleged killer lived less than 2 miles away from where Burnett Frierson was found stabbed to death inside his home 38 years ago.
When detectives went to question Davis at his home, he initially denied any knowledge of Frierson and the crime scene, court documents detail. But after more questions, he abruptly changed his story.
Davis admitted he was there at the time of the killing, and acknowledged the reason for the murder was robbery.
Police issued a warrant and arrested Davis Tuesday.
“Justice for Mr. Frierson has been a long time coming,” said Chief Eric Winstrom. “GRPD never considers an unsolved murder closed. I’m thankful for the professionalism and tenacity of our detectives—then and now.”
Davis is now lodged at the Kent County Correctional Facility on a $250,000 bond.
Investigators are still looking for more information on this case. If you have anything that could help police, call Grand Rapids detectives at (616) 456-3380 or Silent Observer at (616) 774-2345 or www.silentobserver.org.
As of September 2020, CODIS had aided in over 520,000 investigations nationwide, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
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