Texas oil heir T. Cullen Davis dies at 93

His son, Trey Davis, confirmed his father’s death on Monday, stating he died Friday at his home in Colleyville, a Fort Worth suburb.

Davis gained notoriety in August 1976 when a shooting occurred at his Fort Worth mansion during a contentious divorce with his second wife, Priscilla Davis. The incident resulted in the deaths of her daughter, Andrea Wilborn, 12, and her live-in boyfriend, Stan Farr, 30. Priscilla Davis and a visitor, Gus “Bubba” Gavrel Jr., sustained injuries but survived, as did Gavrel’s date.

Initially identified by the survivors as the shooter, Davis was tried for capital murder in Wilborn’s death. Despite the initial identification, he was acquitted in 1977 after a first mistrial due to juror misconduct.

Subsequently, he was arrested and charged with solicitation of capital murder, accused of ordering an FBI informant to kill fifteen individuals, including the judge overseeing his divorce and the shooting survivors. He was acquitted in that case as well, again represented by attorney Richard “Racehorse” Haynes.

At the time of his initial trial, Davis’s oil-based fortune was estimated at $400 million, making him the wealthiest person to stand trial for murder.

The events surrounding the mansion shooting became the subject of numerous true-crime books and television programs, including the 1995 miniseries “Texas Justice.”

By the mid-1980s, Davis’s business empire faced significant challenges, leading to bankruptcy which he attributed to the decline of the oil industry.

Priscilla Davis passed away in 2001 from breast cancer at the age of 59.

Trey Davis, who was adopted by Cullen Davis, described his father as accepting and loving. He also noted a significant change in his father’s character following his conversion to Christianity in 1981, emphasizing his virtues and integrity.