On August 18, 1992, police were invited to a burning home in Somerville, Texas, where they found the bodies of 45-year-old Bobbie Davis, her 16-year-old daughter, and her four grandchildren, ages 4 to 9. Davis and the grandchildren had been stabbed, beaten and strangled. Davis’s daughter, Nicole, had been fatally shot. A few days later, police arrested Robert Carter, 26, the father of one of the grandchildren, after they noticed he had burns and bandages at the children’s funeral. During questioning, Carter, of Brenham, Texas, admitted he committed the murders and establish the house ablaze. Pressed to instruct an accomplice, Carter pointed to Anthony Graves, 26, a cousin of his wife, Theresa Carter. On August 22, 1992, Graves was made into into custody. Carter …show more content…
Carter was brought to justice and convicted in February 1994. He was sentenced to death.Graves, also of Brenham, went on trial in October 1994. On October 21, immediately before the trial, Carter met with the prosecutor, Charles Sebesta, and said that he alone committed the crime that Graves did not participate. When Sebesta said he didn’t believe him because the evidence suggested multiple people were involved, Carter then reported that it had committed the crime with Graves and someone named “Red.” When Sebesta suggested that “Red” was Carter’s wife, Cookie, Carter denied it and offered to take a polygraph exam. After the polygraph examiner said Carter exhibited deception, Carter changed his story, again saying he had invented “Red.” Later, he admitted that his wife was sometimes called “Red.” At the time, Sebesta was working on a deal that would require Carter to testify against both his wife and Graves in return for a life sentence if his death sentence were spent on appeal. By the following morning, October 22, 1994, Carter refused to testify against his wife. So the deal was modified—Carter would not be asked any questions about his