A woman arrested for accessory to murder heard a confession from the suspected teen murderer, at one time had possession of the weapon used in the shooting and directed a neighbor to “get rid of the gun,” an arrest report says.
Bambi Ashley, 37, was arrested on Tuesday night in connection with the murder that took place early Thanksgiving morning. She is being held in lieu of $500,000 bond. Brendon Davis, 17, was arrested for first-degree murder, which carries no bond, and second-degree burglary.
Tulsa County deputies say Davis attempted to break in to a truck parked in a driveway on West 43rd Street near South 43rd West Avenue. When 38-year-old Staijeck Helm's wife heard the alarm, he went outside to investigate and was shot and killed, according to investigators.
Related: TCSO: Homeowner killed by teen breaking into car; suspect on loose
An arrest report for Ashley reveals new information in the homicide, saying Helm's wife was near the front door when she heard two gunshots, and a male walked from behind her Jeep and told her "you better go back inside or I'll shoot you, too."
She ran inside to call 911, then returned outside to find her husband alone on the ground; her son began CPR, the report says.
Two days later, Tulsa County deputies were able to identify Davis as the suspect because of information that surfaced during an unrelated kidnapping investigation. The document says officers interviewed the victim in the kidnapping case, who said Davis “was the shooter from the homicide that happened a couple blocks away,” and that he shot someone “while car hopping.”
The girl also said she saw two guns, which apparently matched the description of two long hunting guns taken from Helm’s vehicle the morning of the homicide, TCSO said.
According to the arrest report, deputies learned about a location where Davis was said to frequent so he could visit Ashley.
Another witness told investigators he saw Davis at the Desert Hills Motel after Thanksgiving. He said he asked Davis what was wrong, and he told him he couldn’t say because he didn’t want to get in trouble. The witness also said he saw photos on a cell phone of two guns Davis said he “pulled” from a truck, the report says.
According to the document, Davis told one of Ashley’s daughters he was “by your mom’s, around the corner and down the street. I was car hopping and the guy spooked me and I accidentally shot him.”
Deputies say Ashley misled investigators when questioned at the sheriff’s office, telling several versions of what happened. According to the report, she said she learned about the homicide on the news. She reportedly gave a story to investigators that Davis was at her home on Thanksgiving and only was gone about 30 minutes to visit a friend, returning when the friend wasn’t there.
She then claimed she saw the two rifles, hid them in a box spring and hadn’t seen them since and repeatedly said she never had seen the handgun used in the shooting, the report says. Ashley said Davis came to her house Thanksgiving morning and told her “he thought he shot a guy and that he saw him fall to the ground,” and put two long guns on her bed and left a white sack by her dresser, according to the report. Ashley said she threw the sack into the next-door neighbor’s yard, the report says, and officers placed her under arrest.
About 20 minutes later, Ashley reportedly admitted to them she lied about the handgun and was taken back to an interview room.
“[Ashley] finally gave the full story that when [Davis] was in the house, he handed her a black revolver handgun wrapped in QuikTrip napkins,” the arrest report says. “That she wrapped the handgun up in a green shirt and later gave it to a neighbor… that she needed to get rid of the gun.”
Davis also was arrested on Tuesday night. Because of his juvenile status, details in his arrest report have not been released by the county. In Ashley's booking report, it says when Davis was asked if he had thought of harming himself in the past 24 hours, he answered, "Yes, I have thought of killing myself every day since I shot that guy."
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