Killer Son Thinks He Got Away - Doesn’t Know He Was Recorded on CCTV

Every night in America, hundreds of arrestees are brought to local emergency rooms for treatment. Perhaps they were injured during a fight or a vehicle. Sometimes the injuries are self-inflicted or even obtained during the arrest. This night, Levi Davis was being brought in for treatment for a terrible wound to his leg. The officer on the scene can't tell the emergency room workers what the arrestee is being charged with. He can just make sure that the man is restrained, handcuffed to the bed. Let's go back some eight hours early. We're in Middleton, Idaho, a small town of just over 10,000 people in the middle of Kenyan County just outside of Boise. It's 3.35 pm on Monday afternoon, October the 10th, 2020, when a call comes in to the local 911 center. I just came up to my work and I think my wife said, "I'm gone." Okay, we're getting help on the way and we're here to slide on her back on the ground and remove any pillows. She's good. Oh, and there's blood blood everywhere. Oh, God. Do you know where the blood's coming from? There's always other doctors. Oh, Jesus Christ. Okay. Are there any weapons near her? No. Oh, God. Okay. We're going to help on the way out here at P.P. I.D. for me. Okay. How old is she? Okay. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh, 40. 40. Oh, I don't know. Okay. Oh, God. Oh, no. Oh, yeah. There's a house. There's something wrong with her insight. I think someone's been here. There's books in the blood. Get out of here. God. Okay. I want you to step away from the situation right now if she's on health. Don't touch anything to the dog who is in the area. Oh, God. Is there any books left in the blood? Yes. Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Okay. Is she in the garage? Oh, there's blood on the back. Oh, God. Oh, my God. No. No. Oh, my God. No. No, she's in the house in the living room. Oh, my God. Do you have any roommates or children there? No. My kids went to school this morning. No. God. No. She's laying on her side and there's just two. She's right cold and something on her head. She's in the house. She's going to drive to that place. Okay. Okay. Okay. I've got on it. I want to talk to her. Oh, my God. Okay. Officers from the Middleton Police Department have arrived at the home within just a few minutes of the call. What they came across was a nightmarish scene. Within the home on Myrta Lake Street, they find a distraught husband, Kevin Klein, who leads them to the body of his wife. Carly Cantrell, the mother of four and executive director of the West Valley Humane Society, was lying dead in a pool of blood. There was evidence that a terrible struggle had happened earlier in the day. Bloody footprints led from the room and into the garage of the house. The family's four dogs locked outside, looking in through sliding glass doors at the carnage. Police quickly checked the home to make sure the killer was no longer there. The husband was taken outside and the crime scene secured just as the family's two youngest sons drove up, coming home from a long day at school. There were no signs of a break-in and police quickly began working on establishing a time frame for the crime as detectives, forensic personnel, and the coroner headed into the scene. Kevin explained that he had headed to work that morning around 7.30 a.m., while their two sons drove themselves to school around the same time. One of the two youngest sons had gotten to school and realized that he had forgotten a project for his English class at home. He texted his mother, Carly, to let her know and asked her to bring it to him. Carly never answered the next text. With that information in hand, police asked Kevin if he knew if anyone would have a reason to kill Carly. He told them that his stepson and her oldest child, Levi Davis, was most likely the person who killed her. The 26-year-old man had recently been told to leave their home and return to a halfway house. The young man had a long history of trouble going back to his teens for battery, burglary, and drug offenses. He was currently on parole from prison, and he and Carly fought often and argued. As info was sought on Levi's whereabouts, deputies and detectives began canvassing the neighborhood to find out if anyone had seen or heard anything. They were also on the lookout for security cameras that might have caught video of someone arriving or leaving the house. In this case, the officers got lucky and the next door neighbor had actually seen something very suspicious that morning. I could even say he could have stayed in here. But when I left for sure, I left it in here at 9 a.m. to go to work, it was gone then. But yeah, I know I saw when I left. When I first departed to go get the gas, I did see his keep hold up right at the same time. I didn't say hi or anything. I just thought if we were dead and seen him, he parked in the driveway. Did you actually see Levi? No, I just saw his car. I didn't physically see him. And then that was about 9 o'clock to left for work? Yeah, that's not when I saw the car. When I saw the car, it was 754 years old. Okay. And then at 8.11. I came back with my wife's car. You're not sure if he was there. I'm pretty sure he was still there, or the car was still there, but I'm not exactly sure. But at 9, he was gone for sure. Can you describe Levi's car for me? It's a blue, not a mini Cooper. It's a blue tiny little car. Blue, like a hatchback? Yeah, it's a hatchback for sure. But it's a tiny little part of it. Kind of like this? Yeah, but smaller than my car for sure. Like a two-door? Yeah, it might be a two-door. I mean, obviously, they'll know his dad would know. Yeah. I just know it's a little blue. I know. I really mind my own. Pain's all messed up there. Pain's messed up about what year? Sure, man. I'm not that kind of guy. And that's a suffering. And so it's an older car for sure. Anything unique about it? Is it loud? I just remember you saying, remember the paint being kind of like jacked up or something about the back of it being just paint? I'm not really looking good. That's about all I can think of. Okay. And my wife was here, but she said she didn't hear anything. She always wanted to take care of it from her later. But she was here all day. And you know Levi from. Yeah. All right. He smoked the right guy here. I smoked the right guy. I talked to him all the time. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Got it. I don't know about it. It's a very strange thing. I don't know. Man. Maybe there's something that makes you. I mean, it could have been anybody, right? For sure. Yeah. Is there something that makes you say, well, Levi's car was here. And that's kind of suspicious. Well, that's very odd. To have his car here. For one parking. Here. He's parking over there. And then, too, he hadn't been here for a long time. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know their personal lives or anything. So, I don't know if he was kicked out or what. But I mean, I don't know if he was gone. For how long? Guys. New months, at least. Yeah. Because I know he went to. When I first moved here, he just came out of him. And he was here for a while. And then he disappeared for a couple of months. He came back. He was working a little bit. And then he disappeared again. So, again, I don't ask him for his business. Sure. But you haven't seen his car here or him here for a couple of months. Yeah. That's why I was pretty weird to just see that today. Sure. And then, for this, that happened. Makes it for me to say. Sure. Go together somehow. Okay. Neighbors in the immediate areas surrounding the home, however, didn't have security cameras on the home. That would give any actual video of the suspect at the scene. However, one living further down the street was able to provide a ring camera video that showed Levi's beat-up blue Chevy Aveo zipping past her house away from the scene of the crime around 820 that morning. Search warrants were obtained for the house as well as for Levi's cell phone pings. Now that a search warrant was in hand, forensic teams moved into the home. A forensic videographer walked into and through the house, documenting the scene as it was. All of the family's firearms and kitchen knives were found within the home and none were missing from the scene. [Music] [Music] The footprints led out to the family garage where Carly's vehicle is parked along with a restoration project SUV. Outside, Kevin tells the officers that he had set up a rental storage unit for Levi right after he had been asked to leave the family home. It was meant to be a place for Levi to store his furniture and personal items until he was ready to move out of the halfway house with a steady job and a place of his own. Police would contact Viking Mini Storage and they were able to verify that Levi and his Chevy Aveo had been at the facility earlier that day. Video from that location would prove instrumental in not just tracing Levi's movements, but incriminating him. Through eyewitness accounts, security videos, banking transaction, hits from his license plate readers in and around the county and other methods, police were able to put together not just a timeline for the murder, but where Levi had gone. Comments from other residents at the halfway house and other friends would also further incriminate him and tell a story of a man first looking desperately to get away from the scene and then to establish some sort of alibi. The early part of the day seems to be filled with panic while the second half seems to be him trying to appear as if he was just enjoying a day off. The timeline put together by police puts Levi at his mother's home before 8 a.m., according to the next door neighbor who saw the car in the driveway, but then saw it was gone by 9 a.m. Ringdorbell camera footage places his very distinctive car leaving the neighborhood around 8.20 a.m. From there, Levi travels to the home of a friend, Larry Lucero. He just walks into the house without knocking. Larry's wife Sonia said Levi was pale and had a very worried look on his face. His blue jeans were covered with blood. Larry asked what happened and Levi tells him that he had stabbed himself and he needed to come in and take a shower. Larry refuses the request and Levi offers him money to let him take a shower. Larry immediately walked Levi to the door and tells him to leave. Levi would then drive to the Viking mini storage, entering the facility around 10.22 that morning. His car is seen on the security footage driving up to and at the unit he had rented. Levi had to get out of the bloody clothes and he knew there were items of his clothing within. So he went in and changed. Nearby, another man pulls up to his rental space and begins putting things away. He has no idea what's going on nearby as Levi takes his bloody clothes and shoes and stuffs them into a u-haul box. Satisfied with the change, Levi gets back into his car, gets ready to leave and apparently realizes that the wound on his thigh has continued to bleed. He gets back out and goes back into the storage unit to change again. He comes back out and leaves. Later, his car is spotted by a couple of license plate readers around the town before he goes and picks up a friend. Strangely, Levi and his close friend decide it's a good time to get haircuts and they end up at a sports clips location. There, banking records and the store's own check-in system show that he had spent just over an hour waiting to get haircuts. Levi, being the good soul that he is, pays for both men's haircuts and leaves a good tip. The two then decide to go to the movies. On their way, they stop at Jackson's convenience store where Levi goes in, note the heavy limp Levi has as he goes to the ATM and makes three quick withdrawals and then buys a pair of red bulls. [Music] An hour later and the two men are at the Regal Edwards Movie Theatre in Nampa, Idaho. They settle in for the 7 p.m. showing of Barbarian, a horror movie. At 1145, the two men have finished seeing their movie and have gone separate ways. It has been a long and busy day for Levi, so he heads back to the halfway house, checks in through the place's pin system and calls it a night. Outside, unbeknownst to him, members of the local violent offender's task force have been waiting for him to come home. The officers rush in the front door and make their arrest while an officer with his canine assistant come through the back door of the facility to cut off any chance of an escape. [Music] And that's how Levi Davis would end up at the emergency room that night, handcuffed to a hospital gurney. While waiting for his need to be stitched up, two detectives from the Kenyan County Sheriff's Office would begin their interrogation after providing him with his Miranda rights. Levi did not ask for an attorney, but instead decided to act sleepy and to attempt to doze off during the interview. His attempts were unsuccessful. Well, I'm kind of just so tired right now. It's time to sleep, man. Yeah, the way you're trying to sleep when we're talking. So let's talk about your mom for a minute. I think you know why we're here. You know why we're here. You know exactly why we're here. Well, we know you were at the house this morning. We know that, okay? And I don't like the BS people. I like to learn a little bit about people, but I'm not going to BS you, okay? We know you were at the house this morning, okay? We know that some bad things happen at the house or at your mom's house, okay? You know your mom's dead, right? Yeah, you do. We know that, okay? What happens to her? Well, we'd like to know that, Levi. We'd like to understand what happens to her. Our sister didn't know that. It's been like Levi. Levi. Why wouldn't she tell us what happens? Or we'd like to understand that we understand that there was some type of argument. I don't know if I'm right. I've been over my family since I recently. Oh, I should think about that for a minute. Okay? Do you love your mom? Yeah. Okay, and sometimes things just get out of control. We understand that. Totally out of control. I don't think your mom agreed with some of your decisions, right? Right? I was younger than I can say. Yeah. You're doing pretty good now though, but something happened today, okay? We know that. And some poor choices were made. Some argument. There was an argument that happened. We know that, right? Well, what happened? Tell us what happened so we understand. Your mom's dead, Levi. You're not even reacting to it. You just told me that. But you're not even reacting to it. I don't know what's going on. You're not even looking at it, right? Look at me when I talk to you for a minute. Okay, so I understand that you're acknowledging what I've seen. Your mom is dead. I've heard you. I don't know what's wrong. But you're not even, you're not even, your mom was murdered. Serious? I think you already knew that. You knew that, Levi. We know you knew that. Would have surprised you if we had people that saw you at the house this morning. So those people just saw a pigment of their imagination? I don't know. Who would you tell me this? Well, why aren't you upset that your mom's dead? I have very upset, okay? So, you say you got a wound here. Can you mind if I look at the wound on your leg? Is that it's on your right leg? Is that right? Your mom's long. Yeah, loves you. So, the guy said that you had a wound. I had to appreciate if you just talk with me about this. Look, I know, when we know, I've done this job a long time, we know that things sometimes get out of hand, right? We know that, Levi. Levi, listen, we know that, all right? So, I had to appreciate if you just talk to me a little bit. You don't seem very shocked about it, so isn't it Simon? Okay, you're going to remain silent. The detectives push harder, letting him know that his shaky story isn't whole up to the evidence at hand, they then let him know that even his friends are providing information on him. "Do you think we're not going to find George Blood on the floor in that house?" "Right? I don't know what happened." "What should you do?" "I don't know where." "You were bleeding too." "Why did you go over to a buddy's house this morning covered in blood?" "Well, you did. We have somebody that said you showed up at their house this morning, being you recovered in blood." Things quickly come to a boiling point for the detectives when Levi lays in the bed, pretends to be sleepy and proclaims he's innocent and that he has no idea what's going on. "Well, sure there is. From mom's dead, you must have been. " "If I got your dad on the phone right now, would you talk to him about what happened this morning?" "Yeah, like that. That type of stuff. I'm not going to talk about it." "Well, your mom's dead. We need to understand that." "Well, can you figure out how and when. " "Well, we know how. She got slashed to death. You got slashed in the process. That's bull. You don't even want to talk about what transpired this morning? Your mom's left dead. You don't even bother to call an ambulance for it. And then you've got Kevin and your little brothers, and you're not even going to talk to us about this? Come on. That's not fair. "Probably not to say." "We love to hear something." "You did. There's no doubt about it. We're not trying to blame you. We want to understand why you did it. We know you did it." "I'm sorry?" "I'm trying to blame you for something. I don't know." "Oh, really? You can lay there without shedding a tear, and we've told you your mom's been killed. And you don't even care." "I don't know what to say." "You do know what to say. Tell us what happened this morning." "You could wake up your son." "Excuse me?" "This is the wrong way to wake up." "Where are you asleep?" "Why was I asleep?" "You're laying there. You can't even look at us, Levi. There. Thank you." Now listen, what would your mom want you to do? We understand that people have problems, and sometimes things get out of control. We understand that. Okay? We get it. Life isn't perfect for people, right? And you've had kind of a crap life right now. You've been in prison, you have a drug problem, you have an anger problem. We know a little bit about you. We know a little bit. That's why we came to talk to you. And we're going to find it, and it's not going to be your blood. It's going to be your mom's blood. But I can guarantee you I saw blood drops on that floor this morning or this evening, that are going to be your blood drops from your leg. Guarantee it. Yeah, you do. You know exactly what I'm talking about. I guarantee we've got footprints in that house that are yours. And you can't even look at me and admit it. That's really, really sad. The detective switched to discussing what they have already found in his car and how that evidence is stacking up by the minute. Forensic experts are finding blood smears throughout the little Chevy Avejo, along with a bloody pair of pants. Luminol would turn up even more blood smears on items within the car, as well as likely handholds he would use, getting in and out of it. The detectives try one more time to lay out the evidence before Levi. But he's not budging on his stance that he wasn't involved. The lead detective knows this isn't going anywhere. So he apprises Levi of what the young man handcuffed to the hospital gurney is now facing, that his terrible actions will have consequences. You're going to jail from here. Yep. I gave you your opportunity. You could have changed this whole outcome tonight by telling us what happened. But there is Levi. You did do something wrong. You went to your mom's house this morning. I see, I'm so done with this conversation. Good luck to you, sir. Levi Davis would be transported to the jail that evening. His mug shot taken and DNA swabs would be taken to compare against blood samples found at the crime scene, his car, and those on his clothing and items found in the storage unit. In time, Levi would come to terms in some way with what he had done that day. He would plead guilty to second-degree murder in the death of his own mother, Carly Cantrell. Just into our newsroom, a 27-year-old nampa man will spend the rest of his life in prison after pleading guilty to murdering his mom. Court records show Levi Davis stabbed his mother, Carly Cantrell, at her Middleton home in October of 2022. He pleaded guilty to secondary murder in September of 2023. Davis will spend at least 40 years in prison before he is eligible for parole. Cantrell was the executive director of the West Valley Humane Society at the time of her death. In one terrible morning, a 26-year-old man would shatter his own family, take his mother's life and guarantee that he would never see freedom again before he was an old man, if ever. What could have driven him to that moment? Was it a long-standing or simmering argument? Was he there for drug money or was he just an out-of-control boy grown into a man's body? We'll never know, but we'll never forget.