Plea deal filed in state hospital murder case

A plea agreement has been filed in the case of a Richmond State Hospital patient charged with murder in the September 2013 beating death of his roommate.

Daniel D. Davis has agreed to plead guilty but mentally ill to a charge of murder in the death of Charles Boyer.

If the agreement is accepted by Wayne County Superior Court I Judge Charles K. Todd, Davis will be sentenced to 55 years with no time suspended. A date for a hearing on the plea agreement has not been set.

Authorities say Davis beat to death the 59-year-old Boyer on Sept. 1, 2013.

Hospital officials told police Davis and Boyer had been roommates for several months and no incidents had occurred between the two men. The men were lodged in a secure building within the facility, where only individuals living in the room and hospital staff are allowed access to patient rooms and all doors to the building remain locked.

According to an affidavit of probable cause in the case, Davis was diagnosed as mildly retarded with impulse-control issues as well as behavioral issues. An official told authorities Davis had not exhibited any violent behavior immediately leading up to the incident, but he has had violent tendencies in the past, the affidavit said, noting Davis has a criminal history that includes battery.

Court records indicate Davis' defense attorney, Steve Rabe, previously filed a notice of intent to raise the defense of mental disease or defect as provided in Indiana law.

Davis was transferred from the Wayne County Jail to an Indiana Department of Corrections facility for safekeeping after a hearing in December. Also that month, reports of evaluations on Davis were filed with the court to declare his mental competency to stand trial. In January, Todd issued an order finding Davis competent.