Donald Davidson was sentenced to death by the State of Florida for the murder of a woman and the sexual assault of her daughter. According to court documents Donald Davidson, who is a convicted sex offender, would murder a thirty five year old woman before kidnapping and sexual assaulting her young daughter. Donald Davidson would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death.
Donald Davidson 2021 Information
| DC Number: | J29399 |
|---|---|
| Name: | DAVIDSON, DONALD H JR |
| Race: | WHITE |
| Sex: | MALE |
| Birth Date: | 07/30/1980 |
| Initial Receipt Date: | 09/25/2019 |
| Current Facility: | UNION C.I. |
| Current Custody: | MAXIMUM |
| Current Release Date: | DEATH SENTENCE |
Donald Davidson More News
Convicted Middleburg rapist and murderer Donald Hugh Davidson Jr. was sentenced to death Wednesday for killing a 35-year-old Clay County mother and abducting and raping her young daughter.
Calling Roseann Welsh’s death “especially heinous, atrocious and cruel,” Circuit Judge Don Lester said he also gave great weight to the defendant’s previous 2010 felony conviction for aggravated battery on a pregnant woman as well as his sexual offender status from a 2005 conviction for lewd and lascivious molestation of someone younger than 12.
“The court finds the aggravating factors heavily outweigh the mitigating circumstances,” the somber-looking judge said. ”… The court concludes the appropriate sentence is death.
Wearing a striped jail jumpsuit, Davidson, 38, showed no emotion as Lester read the sentence. Davidson had previously waived his right to a jury trial after entering a guilty plea to charges of first-degree murder, attempted sexual battery of a victim older than 12 with force, plus four counts of sexual battery of a victim younger than 12, lewd and lascivious molestation, kidnapping and grand theft, according to the State Attorney’s Office.
“This case shocked the conscience of Clay County: a kidnapping of a child, and rape and murder of her mother,” State Attorney Melissa Nelson said. “Today brings an end to at least one chapter of the ongoing nightmare for Rosie Welsh’s children, her husband and family.”
Davidson’s lead attorney, Mark Wright, said “it is a sad day for everyone.”
“No one won here,” he told Times-Union news partner First Coast News. “Mr. Davidson has never wavered in his position of taking responsibility and being held accountable. And quite frankly he is not surprised that this day happened the way it did.”
The case began on Dec. 1, 2014, when Davidson entered Welsh’s Middleburg home, then strangled and stabbed her, the State Attorney’s Office said. Davidson forced her into unconsciousness before stabbing her in the neck several times.
Davidson knew the dead woman’s husband since childhood. When their son returned home several hours later, Davidson locked him out and told him his mother was not home, the State Attorney’s Office said. Davidson told him to go to a friend’s house down the street, which he did. Upon returning home, the boy found his mother murdered on the bathroom floor, while the family van and his younger sister were missing.