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A six-million-dollar mansion, a bitter divorce, and a midnight shooting that left a 12-year-old dead—then a not guilty verdict that stunned Texas. We retrace the aftermath of the Cullen and Priscilla Davis case and examine how venue changes, narrative warfare, and community loyalty can bend the arc of justice. From Racehorse Haynes’s masterclass in defense strategy to a courtroom culture that felt more like a fan convention, we unpack how a jury heard two eyewitnesses, zero physical evidence, and a thousand rumors—and still walked a wealthy defendant out the front door.

The story doesn’t end there. When the divorce court kept ruling against him, a murder-for-hire scheme targeted the judge and Priscilla. An ally flipped to the FBI, staged macabre photos with ketchup “blood,” and recorded the payoff in a diner parking lot. On tape, with cash in hand, the case seemed unloseable—until the defense floated a wild counter: he was “helping” the FBI. Despite the Bureau’s denial, another jury acquitted. We explore why that argument resonated, what it reveals about juror psychology, and how hometown prestige, oil money, and media frenzy intertwined to shape both trials.

Along the way, we reflect on the victims who too often vanish in the glare: Andrea, a young girl whose death became a footnote, and Stan Farr, remembered mostly for how the case treated his family afterward. We follow the mansion’s strange second lives, the fall of Ken Davis Industries, and the uneasy legacy of a case that still feels modern in all the worst ways. If you care about true crime beyond headlines—jury dynamics, defense tactics, and the real cost to families—you’ll find this chapter of Texas history impossible to forget.

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From the sprawling elite neighborhoods of Fort Worth comes a true crime story so outrageous it seems pulled from a Texas-sized soap opera. The Cullen Davis case represents everything larger-than-life about Texas wealth – oil money, mansions, jealousy, and ultimately, murder.

When platinum blonde Priscilla met oil heir Cullen Davis at an exclusive country club in 1968, both were married to other people. Their attraction quickly developed into a relationship that embodied 1970s excess. Cullen, from one of the wealthiest families in Texas, constructed a $6 million mansion (worth $43 million today) featuring technology decades ahead of its time – security keypads, video monitoring systems, and luxury amenities that made it the most enviable address in Fort Worth.

The couple's relationship was as extravagant as their home – silver fox bedspreads, private jets, European shopping sprees, and wild parties that attracted the elite while shocking more conservative Texas society. But beneath the glossy exterior lurked darkness. Cullen, a man unaccustomed to hearing "no," demonstrated disturbing violence, once punching Priscilla's teenage daughter during an argument and killing her kitten in a fit of rage.

When their divorce proceedings began in 1974, the judge shocked everyone by awarding Priscilla temporary residence in the mansion Cullen had built. This decision set in motion events that would culminate in a night of horror. On August 2, 1976, hours after a judge increased Priscilla's spousal support, she and her boyfriend Stan Farr returned home to find a figure in a black wig who opened fire. Stan was killed, Priscilla was wounded, her daughter Andrea was executed, and another man was paralyzed.

Two witnesses identified the shooter as Cullen Davis, setting the stage for what would become one of the most sensational murder trials in American history, with the wealthiest man ever charged with murder fighting for his freedom against compelling evidence and eyewitness testimony.

Join us as we unravel this twisted tale of Texas high society gone terribly wrong – a story that continues to captivate true crime enthusiasts nearly five decades later and reminds us that sometimes the most dangerous predators are those hiding in plain sight behind wealth and privilege.

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A young woman's devotion to faith leads her to a Mennonite community in Farmington, New Mexico, where she thrives writing church music and working for a religious publication. Her peaceful life comes to an abrupt end one January evening when she disappears while retrieving materials from her church. What unfolds next reveals the dark intersection of technology, hatred, and random violence.

Sasha Krause was known for her beautiful writing, linguistic talents, and dedication to her faith. Originally from Texas, she had found purpose working at the Lamp and Light publication in the Mennonite community. When her roommates realized she hadn't returned home one night, they found her car still at the church but her purse at home—only her cell phone was missing. The tight-knit religious community immediately mobilized to find her, but their search would end in heartbreak.

The discovery of Sasha's body in an Arizona national park a month later created more questions than answers. Why would anyone target a member of a pacifist religious community? How did she end up hundreds of miles from where she disappeared? With no obvious suspects, investigators made an extraordinary decision to subpoena cell phone data from all networks, searching for any device that had traveled the same path as Sasha's phone.

This digital breadcrumb trail led them to Mark Gooch, an Air Force airman with a disturbing secret—he harbored an inexplicable hatred toward Mennonites despite being raised in the faith himself. Text messages revealed he had been "surveilling" communities before driving seven hours to commit his crime. The randomness of his selection of Sasha as a victim makes this case all the more chilling—she was simply in the wrong place when his hatred found its target.

Through forensic evidence, digital detective work, and the killer's own mistakes, justice was eventually served with a life sentence. Yet nothing can erase the tragedy of a brilliant, kind woman whose life was cut short by senseless hatred. Join us as we examine how modern technology both facilitated a heinous crime and ultimately brought its perpetrator to justice.

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www.texaswineandtruecrime.com