Life sentence given for torture, murder
FAYETTEVILLE — A jury sentenced Mark Edward Chumley to life in prison without the possibility of parole Monday for torturing and killing a woman in 2015.
Chumley, 49, was found guilty of accomplice to capital murder Friday. Jurors concluded that Chumley helped kill Victoria Annabeth Davis, known as Tori, on Aug. 19, 2015, at her home on Hill Street.
Life in prison without the possibility of parole or the death sentence were the options available under Arkansas’ capital murder statute. Jurors took just under two hours to decide on a sentence.
Police said Davis, 24, was held captive for hours and beaten by Chumley and four others. She died of bluntforce trauma but was also raped with a baseball bat and hooked up to a battery charger before she died, according to testimony.
Matt Durrett, prosecuting attorney, said the jury’s capital murder verdict Friday was more important to him than whether they returned the death penalty Monday.
“They put a lot of time and effort into both verdicts, can’t disagree with either one because they listened to all the evidence, they listened to all the arguments, they listened to all the instructions. They did their job. I totally respect what they did,” Durrett said afterward. “My big issue was the capital murder. That ensured he is never going to get out of prison, he’s never going to leave prison alive.”
Durrett told jurors in his final argument to do what they thought was right.
“I had my opinions on what should happen but my opinions don’t matter, it’s theirs,” Durrett said. “And, that’s what they thought was the appropriate sentence, so I can’t disagree with that at all.”
Durrett placed the blame for Davis’ murder squarely on Chumley, he told jurors before they left to decide the sentence.
“Others participated, but this was his murder, this was his motive, these were his actions,” Durrett said. “Is what he did so bad he doesn’t deserve mercy? That’s a decision only you can make. The decision is yours, I’m not going to tell you what to do.”
Attorneys for Chumley were just happy the jury did not return a death sentence.
“We’re obviously pleased with the verdict, it’s a very difficult situation for everyone,” Chris Nebben said.
Nebben had pleaded with jurors to spare Chumley’s life.
“This is not someone who was born evil. This is someone whose bad decisions put him in a bad way,” Nebben said. “You’ve already taken Mark out of society. If you can fulfill your oath without taking another life, is that not what you should do?”
Chumley had listened stoically to the proceedings, but wiped away a tear after the sentencing verdict was read, then smiled at family members in the courtroom.
Chumley thanked jurors, telling them he recognized they had a hard job to do. He shook hands with Durrett before being led from the courtroom.
The defense called several family members Monday to tell jurors about Chumley’s childhood and a doctor explained what long-term methamphetamine abuse does to a human brain.
A friend of Chumley’s, Tim Minor, told jurors that in 2008 he bought Chumley a bus ticket to Fayetteville and gave him half the money he had in his pocket — about $22 — and a pair of shoes so Chumley could leave Alabama, try to get off meth and restart his life.
“He’s like my brother and I wanted to give him a chance to start over,” Minor said.
The other defendants in Victoria Davis’ killing are John Christopher Davis, 30, who was Tori Davis’ husband; Christopher Treat, 32; his wife, Desire Amber Treat, 32; and Rebecca Lee Lloyd, 39.
Davis pleaded guilty earlier this year to being an accomplice to first-degree murder and was sentenced to 37 years in prison in exchange for his testimony against Chumley. The Treats have been offered plea deals for 35-year sentences, according to prosecutors. Both the Treats and Davis testified against Chumley.