Originally Published: August 1, 2014
Original Publication: Examiner.com | Birmingham Examiner
Byline: Author/Traciy Curry-Reyes; Section: Crime & Courts
It's a tale of obsession, stalking, and murder
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| Yamisha Thomas with her stalker and killer Sylvester Davis |
Yamisha Thomas Fatal Attraction-Stalker Case
Yamisha Thomas, aka Yamisha Brown Thomas, is an African American woman who was murdered by her live-in boyfriend, Sylvester Davis, in 2011. Thomas had been missing for a month prior to the discovery of her body, as stated in a report by WLTZ.
Police say Sylvester strangled Thomas, covered her in cement, and buried her in a shallow grave in Phenix City, Alabama. Yamisha Thomas was originally from Columbus, Georgia.
Authorities say Davis murdered his girlfriend because he was jealous that she was seeing another man. Police records show that Yamisha "Toot" Thomas had tried to distance herself from her boyfriend but feared for her life, according to the Ledger-Enquirer.
Yamisha Thomas Timeline
In 2001, Yamisha Thomas becomes reacquainted with an old friend named Shantrell. The two ladies hit it off and become best friends. Shantrell will turn out to be Yamisha's only true friend.
In 2005, Yamisha is injured in a car accident. She suffers a severe foot injury, which requires several surgeries that will complicate her life over the next several years. On top of having to deal with her foot injury, Thomas is going through a custody battle with one of her children's fathers. She is also divorcing her current husband. The situation is stressful and frustrating for her.
Around 2008 or 2009, Yamisha Thomas meets Sylvester at a club. One of Sylvester's female family members introduces him to her. Yamisha and Sylvester hit it off and become good friends.
Yamisha needs someone to help her get back and forth to court since she is involved in a custody battle with her child's father. Sylvester is the man who helps transport her to and from court. She also confides in him about some of the issues she is facing. Sylvester helps her financially as well.
When Yamisha realizes she can depend on him, she begins dating him. This turns out to be a big mistake. Sylvester is madly in love with her and is willing to do anything to keep her.
Court records show that Yamisha Thomas is still living with her legal husband, Ricky Thomas, although the couple is estranged and plans to divorce. Sylvester Davis becomes jealous of the living arrangement and begins showing up at Yamisha's home without permission. This causes stress in Yamisha's life.
It is the first time the young mother realizes that she may have made a mistake by dating Sylvester Davis.
Originally Published: January 17, 2015
Original Publication: Examiner.com | Birmingham Examiner
Byline: Author/Traciy Curry-Reyes; Section: Crime & Courts
Sylvester Davis: Columbus, Ga., murderer serving life in prison
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| Yamisha Thomas (Yamisha "Toot" Brown) was envied for her good looks and red truck, sources told Traciy Curry-Reyes. |
Yamisha Thomas became unlucky from the moment she met Sylvester Davis. What started out as a beautiful and loving relationship became Yamisha Thomas's worst nightmare.
Sylvester Davis, aka "Baby Jr.," was everything that Yamisha needed in her life at the time. The struggling mother was trying her best to get out of her previous marriage. As Examiner.com reported earlier, she was still living with her estranged husband when she met Sylvester.
Feeling that Sylvester was her ticket out of a miserable situation, she began dating him because he seemed to be someone she could depend on emotionally and financially. She had no idea that Sylvester was more than a financial provider; he was also violent and dangerous, and he would eventually become obsessed with her.
Yamisha had told Sylvester that she was still living with her husband and that he should not call or come to the home. Sylvester did all of the above. He was obsessed with the idea that Yamisha was still spending her nights alone with her estranged husband.
And his mind couldn't take it.
He began coming to the home, demanding to see Yamisha. He started calling at all hours of the night. When Yamisha decided that she needed to cut ties with him, he began stalking her.
No matter where the pretty young mother went, Sylvester Davis would track her down in his big Hummer. He already knew what kind of car Yamisha drove. The large, brightly colored red Chevy Avalanche was enough to get anyone noticed.
And that's all Sylvester Davis would do—drive around town looking for her red truck.
Whenever he spotted it, he would stop to look for Yamisha. Friends and family members say that he would walk into any establishment and grab Yamisha, after which a violent confrontation would ensue.
At least two confrontations ended with Yamisha having to be hospitalized. The last time she was hospitalized after one of Sylvester's brutal beatings, she knew that her days were numbered. In one of the last conversations she had with her mother just days prior to her murder, she was scared to death. She saw shadows that were not there, and she felt that death was upon her.
Surely, during this time, she was remembering all of the conversations she had with her mother about Sylvester. Yamisha's mother, Edna, had begged her not to get involved with the man. She just had a bad feeling about him from the beginning.
Anyone who knew Sylvester Davis said that he was a scary dude. He was big and tall, with menacing eyes. The first time Yamisha and her mother met him, they were overcome with a feeling of uneasiness.
They had good reason to be uneasy around Sylvester Davis. Not much is known about him, but according to court records, he was a known drug dealer who was well known around town. He always kept money in his pocket and was a magnet for the ladies until they got to know him.
One previous girlfriend told the following story.
She said she had been dating Sylvester Davis for a while but had grown tired of his obsessive and controlling behavior. So she broke it off with him. Somehow, he lured her back under the guise of "working things out." Instead, he drove the young woman out to a remote area, tied her to a tree, and left her there in the cold darkness.
The young woman expected him to come back and kill her. Just as she suspected, and just before dawn, he returned.
Instead of acting fearful, she looked directly into Sylvester's eyes and asked him if he had brought her breakfast. With a look of confusion, he asked his girlfriend what she meant. She told him that, at the very least, he could have returned with breakfast since he had left her there all night long.
The girlfriend said he looked at her, laughed, and told her she was crazy. Then he untied her and let her go. The woman never went back. Even today, she is afraid to come forward.
Yamisha wasn't as fortunate. Sylvester killed Yamisha and discarded her body in a makeshift grave that had been topped with cement and a mattress, leaving a small portion of her leg and foot exposed to the elements. She had been missing for a month prior to the discovery of her body.
Sylvester Davis was convicted and sentenced to life in prison. He is serving his sentence at a correctional facility in Alabama.
Here is one of the first mugshots of Sylvester Davis. This police file photo was taken when he was arrested for the Phenix City murder of Yamisha Thomas. People who knew Davis say he was intimidating in person.
This is the missing persons flier that was sent out when Yamisha Brown Thomas went missing.
All she wanted to do was get away from Sylvester so that she could find someone else who might have treated her better.
As for killer Sylvester Davis, not much is known about him. He does have a history of aggravated assaults, domestic violence, and distribution of drugs. He is serving a life sentence for killing his girlfriend.
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| My original article about the Yamisha Thomas case |
Editor's Note: This story presents the facts and information as they were known to me at the time of the original reporting and does not include later updates or developments unless otherwise indicated. Much of the information included in this article came from conversations and interviews I conducted with Yamisha's mother, Edna, her best friend Shantrell, and the prosecuting attorney involved in the case.
Editor's Note: During the original reporting period, this case and my reporting on it were reviewed by producers connected to the television programs Fatal Attraction on TV One and Scorned on Investigation Discovery after they examined my crime reporting archives and previously published cases. This was one of several early true-crime stories that later became connected to television projects in which I participated. I later appeared on Scorned and received IMDb credit for my television appearance. This article remains part of my original archival true-crime reporting work from that period.