Thomas Cullen Davis, a former oil magnate who captured national attention during the 1970s, has died at the age of 93. Davis passed away on Friday at his residence in Colleyville, a suburb of Fort Worth, Texas. He was born on September 22, 1933, in Fort Worth, into a family already established in the petroleum industry.
His father, Kenneth W. Stinky Davis, was a legendary figure in the oil business who founded Ken Davis Industries International. Growing up with significant family wealth, Cullen Davis became one of the richest men in the United States at one point in his life. However, his later years were marked by legal battles and financial decline that rivaled the drama of his early fortune.
The most defining moment of Davis's public life occurred in August 1976. During the midst of a divorce from his second wife, Priscilla Davis, he was charged with the shooting deaths of two individuals. The victims were Andrea Wilborn, Priscilla's 12-year-old daughter, and Stan Farr, a 30-year-old man who was Priscilla's boyfriend. Priscilla Davis and a friend were also shot in the chest during the incident but survived the attack.
The case attracted intense media scrutiny and became a sensation. In 1977, the trial was moved from Tarrant County to Amarillo, a move secured by the renowned defense attorney Richard 'Racehorse' Haynes. Haynes faced off against Tim Curry, who was then the Tarrant County District Attorney. The proceedings lasted 13 weeks and are widely considered the most expensive murder trial in Texas history.
After the lengthy legal battle, a jury found Cullen Davis not guilty of the murder charges. The trial's intensity and the dramatic circumstances of the case made it a cultural event, with the world watching the proceedings closely. Despite the acquittal, the legal troubles for Davis did not end immediately.
In the year following the murder trial, Davis faced new accusations. He was charged with hiring a hitman to assassinate both Priscilla Davis and the judge presiding over their divorce case. In this second trial, Davis was acquitted of the attempted murder charges, further cementing his reputation as a figure surrounded by legal drama.
The narrative of his life, particularly the events of that late August night at his 13,000-square-foot Stonegate Mansion on Fort Worth's Southside, was dramatic enough to inspire fiction. The story served as the backdrop for the 1995 television movie titled 'Texas Justice,' which dramatized the events of the shooting and the subsequent trials.
Despite his fame and initial wealth, Davis eventually lost the bulk of his oil fortune during the economic recession of the 1980s. The financial downturn forced him to declare bankruptcy, marking a significant shift from his status as a top-tier American billionaire. The combination of legal infamy and financial loss defined the latter part of his public image.
Davis's death concludes the life of a man whose story blurred the lines between reality and Hollywood script. From his origins in a prominent Fort Worth oil family to his acquittal in a landmark trial and his eventual financial ruin, his life remained a subject of public interest for decades. He leaves behind a legacy marked by both immense wealth and enduring legal controversy.
