In April 1997, Christopher Wilson was mauled by three Rottweilers owned by Davidson, who lived in rural Milford at the time. Her attorney, Keith Sevedge of Lenexa, declined to say where she lives now.
A Geary County District Court jury convicted Davidson last year of unintentional second-degree murder and sentenced her to 146 months in prison -- 12 years and 2 months. She has been free on bond during the appeal. On Friday, the state's highest court unanimously upheld the conviction.
"The opinion does not mean the end of the matter in the Supreme Court," Sevedge said, without elaborating. He could ask the court to reconsider its ruling, but it is rare for the judges to reverse themselves.
Under Kansas law, Sabine Davidson will have to serve 80 percent of the sentence before being paroled.
Sabine Davidson also was sentenced to a concurrent one-year term on a charge of child endangerment and ordered to serve 36 months of parole after serving the 12-year sentence.
Geary County Attorney Chris Biggs, who argued the case before the Supreme Court in May, said he was pleased with the ruling.
"If this case has the effect of making people more careful in controlling their animals and preventing something like this from happening in the future, that will be a positive result," Biggs said.
The victim's mother, Violet Wilson, of Milford, said she cried when Biggs called her with news of the ruling.
"Justice has been served now. I would have been sad if she had walked free after she ruined our lives," she said.
During arguments before the justices, Sevedge said Davidson's actions weren't a "depraved heart murder," that her conviction should be reversed and she should be granted another trial on an involuntary manslaughter charge.
The court disagreed, saying Davidson "created an unreasonable risk and then consciously disregarded it in a manner and to the extent that it reasonably could be inferred that she was extremely indifferent to the value of human life."
In its opinion, the court said Davidson was warned as early as 1995 her dogs were a problem. It noted at one point she laughed when told a Rottweiler puppy nipped at a 3-year-old girl's legs.
Her husband, Jeffrey Davidson, was charged in Geary County with involuntary manslaughter. His trial was to begin after his wife's. But after his wife was found guilty by the jury, he quickly took a plea deal and was placed on probation for five years. He was not allowed to own dogs during this time.
Christopher Wilson and his brother, Tramell, 9, were waiting for their school bus when they were chased up a tree by the three dogs. After Christopher climbed down, the dogs attacked and dragged him about 70 feet to a ravine. The dogs were shot by police later that day.
(The Topeka Capital-Journal - July 10, 1999)
Earlier:
- Kansas: Frenzied Rottweilers chase, attack and kill Kansas boy, 11
- Kansas: Sabine Davidson refused to take a plea deal after her Rottweilers chased, mauled and killed an 11-year old boy. A jury just found her GUILTY of 2nd degree murder.
- Kansas: Sabine Davidson refused to take a plea deal on a charge of involuntary manslaughter after her Rottweilers attacked and killed an 11-year-old boy. Last month a jury convicted Sabine of 2nd degree murder. This convinced her husband Jeffrey Davidson not to risk a jury trial; he took the original plea offer of involuntary manslaughter and is sentenced to probation
- Kansas: Sabine Davidson's attorney complains that her murder charge is excessive. Her Rottweilers chased, attacked, mauled and killed 11-year-old Chris Wilson
- Kansas: Sabine Davidson was convicted of reckless 2nd-degree murder after her Rottweiler mauled an 11-year-old boy to death. Davidson's appeal, which was denied, says she "conveniently ignores significant aspects of her conduct that contributed to the tragic death of Chris"
