The state trooper who investigated the slaying of a Maine man on a Pennsylvania highway testified Tuesday about leads that he followed and ruled out before a tip led police to a West Virginia man now on trial for murder in the case.
Prosecutors say that Timothy “Asti” Davison, 28, of Poland, Maine, was run off the highway by the suspect, who allegedly shot and killed him during the early-morning hours of Jan. 4, 2014. Davison had been driving home to Maine after visiting relatives in Florida during the Christmas holiday.
Investigators, who initially thought Davison was killed during a road rage incident, have since determined that his alleged killer, 42-year-old John Wayne Strawser Jr. of Terra Alta, West Virginia, mistook Davison’s vehicle for that of another couple that Strawser was trying to hunt down that morning.
Strawser, who was driving a pickup truck, allegedly chased Davison’s silver Mitsubishi Montero along the highway, rammed his vehicle, and forced Davison into a snow-covered median strip where Davison dialed 911 for help. Strawser circled back and shot Davison in the head, leg and foot before fleeing.
Pennsylvania State Trooper Jason Cachara testified Tuesday about the scope of the investigation, including the 911 calls that Davison made, multiple surveillance videos and crime scene evidence that featured a broken piece of a Ford Ranger XLT badge found four days after Davison’s killing on Interstate 81.
Tuesday was the second day of Strawser’s trial, which is expected to last through Aug. 9. Davison’s mother, Theresa Alloca, and stepsister, Adele Allocca, traveled from Maine to testify Monday. The trial is being held in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania.
“We would like to thank everyone who has been following this tragedy,” Davison’s family wrote on their Justice for Asti Davison Facebook page. “As you can imagine this is a very difficult time for friends and family and in the spirit of Asti, let us be thankful for those we love, enjoy this beautiful summer weather, and tell the people you love how much they mean to you!”
Cachara told the jury that other suspects were ruled out before a tip called in by a Waynesboro, Pennsylvania, couple in April 2015 led them to Strawser. Cachara said there were approximately 671 tips delivered to police in the months after Davison’s death through hotline calls and a website set up by the family.
John Wayne Strawser Jr.
The leads poured in following an official statement released by the Pennsylvania State Police on Feb. 19, 2014, asking the public for help identifying the driver of a blue metallic Ford Ranger XLT who ran Davison off the road and shot him.
A team of investigators, including Cachara, recorded and followed up on all credible leads, he said during District Attorney Matt Fogal’s questioning.
One suspect was closely investigated prior to Strawser. The man, also a West Virginia resident, had owned the same truck in the same color and had it crushed following Davison’s death.
Cachara told the jury that multiple interviews, polygraphs and call records were all collected. Police had even wiretapped the man’s phone.
State police determined there was not enough evidence to charge the man.
Another suspect was considered in York, where a similar incident had occurred that same evening. A man fired a round into another vehicle in what police described as a “road rage incident.”
State police ruled out this lead, as the truck and bullet were at odds with those thought to be involved in Davison’s death.
A third lead was described in Cachara’s testimony. The family of a man with mental health issues who died in 2014 were cleaning out his home and found multiple guns hidden around his property, including a .44 Magnum consistent with the weapon used to kill Davison. He also drove a Ford Ranger, but it was not the age they were looking for.
Despite thoroughly vetting these leads, it was not until the call and subsequent interview with Jamie and Courtney Breese that the state gathered enough evidence to charge Strawser with the murder.
Strawser already is already serving a life sentence in West Virginia for killing his girlfriend, Amy Lou Buckingham, in Preston, West Virginia, in April 2015.
The Breeses’ testimony was set to be completed Wednesday afternoon.
Davison attended Poland Regional High School, and worked as a pipefitter and commercial welder.
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