Man killed ex-girlfriend in front of family during argument about relatives staying over for Thanksgiving

A 32-year-old antheral successful Oregon volition walk decades down bars for killing his ex-girlfriend, fatally shooting the 40-year-old unfortunate arsenic her household — including her 2 children — watched successful horror.

Multnomah County Circuit Court Judge Jenna Plank connected Tuesday ordered Richard D. Simms Jr. to service a condemnation of 29 years successful a authorities correctional installation for the 2023 slaying of Nicole L. Davis, tribunal records show.

The condemnation was handed down aft Simms was convicted connected charges of first-degree manslaughter, unlawful usage of a weapon, and being a felon successful possession of a firearm.

According to a bid of news releases from the Portland Police Department, officers astatine astir 4 p.m. connected Nov. 22, 2023, responded to a study of idiosyncratic being changeable extracurricular of an flat analyzable successful the 11100 artifact of Northeast Weidler Street successful the Parkrose Heights neighborhood. Upon arriving astatine the scene, archetypal responders located an big pistillate — aboriginal identified arsenic Davis — suffering from what appeared to beryllium aggregate gunshot wounds to the back. She was pronounced dormant astatine the scene.

The suspected shooter was rapidly identified arsenic Simms, who had fled the country earlier constabulary had adjacent been called.

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With the assistance of the U.S. Marshals Service, constabulary units successful March 2024 located Simms and took him into custody for sidesplitting Davis.

Prosecutors said that Simms and Davis had been successful a relationship, but were estranged astatine the clip of the shooting due to the fact that helium had punched her successful the look 2 days earlier, giving Davis a achromatic eye, Portland NBC affiliate KGW reported.

Simms had been astatine the flat earlier connected the time of the shooting and left, but aboriginal returned due to the fact that helium was upset with Davis for allowing respective of her household members to enactment astatine the flat for Thanksgiving.

When Simms came backmost to the apartment, helium reportedly argued with Davis and respective of her household members. At immoderate constituent during the confrontation, Simms pulled retired a handgun and aimed it astatine Davis, pulling the trigger respective times, but the weapon malfunctioned. As Davis began walking backmost into the apartment, Simms was capable to get the weapon moving and fired 3 shots into her back, section CBS affiliate KOIN reported.

"Domestic unit is 1 of the astir insidious crimes we face due to the fact that it usually occurs successful the shadows of intimate relationships," Multnomah County Senior Deputy District Attorney Glen Banfield said successful a connection pursuing the sentencing hearing. "This case, however, was among the astir callous acts of indifference to quality beingness I person ever witnessed — Ms. Davis was changeable successful the backmost successful beforehand of her ain family, by a idiosyncratic who claimed to person loved her. It is simply a stark reminder of the devastation home unit brings, not lone to the victims, but to their loved ones and our full community."