Trial set for woman accused of murder, kidnapping

Savannah Davis, 29, of Sikeston, Missouri, was scheduled for a plea hearing Friday in Mississippi County Court, but she had second thoughts and decided not to plead guilty.

A trial-setting hearing has been scheduled for 9 a.m. March 17.

Davis is charged with second-degree murder, armed criminal action, kidnapping and leaving the scene of a motor vehicle accident stemming from an incident July 11, 2014.

Davis is accused of striking John Sharber, 57, with her car on purpose in a Sikeston Wal-Mart parking lot, picking him up off the asphalt and placing him in her vehicle while he was still alive, driving him around for several hours and dropping him off at Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau, according to a probable-cause report from Sikeston Department of Public Safety.

Sharber was diagnosed with a cracked skull and internal injuries and was taken to Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis before he died, the report stated.

Sharber’s wife said he had been in a disagreement with a woman who drove a maroon car over work he had done on an appliance for her, according to the report.

Surveillance-video footage from Wal-Mart shows Davis, driving a maroon vehicle, running over Sharber at 9 p.m. July 11, according to the report.

Cellphone records determined Davis had called Sharber 22 times between 8 and 9 p.m. the night of his death, according to the report. Cellphone records also indicated Davis drove Sharber to the west side of Sikeston and on back roads for three hours before reaching Saint Francis.

bkleine@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3644

Pertinent address:

Sikeston, Mo.