BLOOMINGTON — The Monroe County Prosecutor has dropped the charges against 56-year-old Billie Davis, in order to expedite federal charges against her.
Davis is accused of stabbing an 18-year-old woman of Chinese descent in the head as she exited a bus in Bloomington in January.
According to court documents, “The facts that form the basis of the federal charges are the same operative facts that form the basis of the charges here. As such, it is appropriate for these charges to be dismissed in order for the federal charges to proceed without delay.”
Davis was indicted by a federal grand jury in Evansville on April 21 on a charge of willfully causing injuries to the victim due to her race and national origin. Her lawyer argued at the time Davis was mentally ill.
Her federal jury trial is now scheduled for June 26.
Davis has pleaded not guilty to the crime. Her Attorney Kyle Dugger plans to use an insanity defense. He says he plans to prove Davis can’t help prepare for her case.
The Crime
On Jan. 11 at 4:45 p.m., officers with the Bloomington Police Department responded to a report of an assault that had just occurred on a Bloomington Transit bus.
The assault reportedly occurred when the bus stopped at the intersection of West 4th Street and the B-Line Trail.
A witness that had been on the bus at the time followed Davis on foot and provided responding officers with updated locations until officers arrived in the area and detained Davis.
The victim reported to investigators that she had been riding the Bloomington Transit bus and had stood up to exit the bus on 4th Street at the B-Line Trail. She said that as she was standing and waiting for the bus doors to open, another passenger on the bus began to strike her repeatedly in the head, which resulted in immediate pain. She was transported by ambulance to IU Health Bloomington Hospital for treatment.
Davis also exited the bus and began to walk toward Kirkwood Avenue. She was detained and transported to the Monroe County Jail.
Later, once the victim’s wounds had been cleaned at the hospital, it was determined that the victim had multiple stab wounds to her head.
Investigators were able to access camera footage from inside the bus which captured the assault. The footage showed that Davis and the victim had no interactions prior to Davis stabbing her multiple times in the head as the victim waited for the bus doors to open.
