Tears and heated stares were prevalent in the courtroom Tuesday as the trial of accused killer Brandon Davis got underway. The 45-year-old is one of two men charged in connection to the 2024 shooting death of a Middletown woman whose remains were found decomposing in a trash can.
Prosecutors claim Davis was complicit in the murder of 35-year-old Asiah Slone, having pulled the trigger first before handing the gun to another man and instructing him to fire a second, fatal shot.
On September 12, a Butler County grand jury indicted Davis for aggravated murder, with the additional specifications of being a repeat violent offender and using a gun in the crime. The indictment also includes possession of weapons under disability, kidnapping, and lesser-included charges of murder, kidnapping, and attempted murder.
Davis has been housed in the Butler County Jail in lieu of a $1 million bond set for his arraignment on September 16.
As Butler County deputies led Davis into Common Pleas Judge Kelly Heile’s courtroom, he wore a button-down shirt and slacks. Slone’s family sat in the galley.
The trial of a man has begun after the remains of a woman were discovered in a trash can.
Butler County Prosecutor Mike Gmoser is on the case’s prosecution team and gave the State’s opening statements. He portrayed Davis as the primary perpetrator, walking into the Middletown home and targeting Slone, who was sleeping on the floor.”
“When he walked inside he went to where Asiah was, he took out a pistol — an unusual pistol — and put a bullet into her head and then went to others, especially Perry Hart, who was startled by it and looked up and saw this defendant,” Gmoser told the courtroom jury.
“And this defendant asked, ‘Are you with me or not?'” Hart replied, ‘I’m with you.’ Sloan was alive at the time. She was about to die, and Brandon Davis told Hart, “Take her downstairs and shut up.” Stop her from moaning. Words to that effect. Hart did exactly that.
Dragged her down the stairs…He closed his eyes, pointed the gun at her, and pulled the trigger, silenced the agonizing sounds she was making.”
Gmoser claimed the complicity was at Davis’ direction, making him equally liable in the case.
Slone’s body was discovered July 1 in an alley behind the house where the shooting allegedly occurred. Slone’s brother Dominique Russell reported her missing a month earlier, and investigators believe she was killed between June 1 and June 9.
Russell was the first witness to take the stand. His testimony was brief, asking the prosecution to explain why he reported Slone missing and identify her in a photo.
Slone’s friend was next to take the stand. Casey Kilgore, who described her relationship with Slone as that of sisters, had searched for her frequently during the month she had been missing and was the one who discovered her remains in the trash bin.
Kilgore was overcome with tears several times throughout her testimony.
“My heart started pounding,” Kilgore explained to Gmoser, who questioned her. “Because (the bin) smelled like a corpse….I wrapped a bag around my hands, stepped out of the car, and found my sister.”
Kilgore would frequently look over at Davis, who returned her stares with equal intensity. Kilgore stated that she had never met him but was familiar with him, describing him as one of Slone’s most important figures.
“Of all the people in Middletown, he was in the top three of her favorites. To whom she spoke. Who would be like her brother?” she asked.
As Kilgore spoke, Davis could be seen nodding and smiling.
Three other witnesses testified Tuesday, including one of the Middletown police officers who responded to Slone’s discovery and two medical experts. The former confirmed Slone’s body was in advanced decomposition, with two bullets inside the trash bin and two bullet wounds in his skull.
Davis claimed at the time that the evidence shared with him by his legal team did not include any physical evidence at the crime scene linking him to the case, such as fingerprints or DNA.
Davis refuted prosecutors’ claims that he confessed to shooting Slone during an interview with investigators.
In his opening statements to the jury, Davis’ attorney Brad Kraemer emphasized the same claims while accusing Gmoser of painting “quite a tale.”
“This strange gun you’re going to get has one set of DNA on it. Perry Hart. Only one. Yet there are so many other DNA samples in the house. “None of them are Brandon Davis’,” Kraemer explained.
Perry Hart, 58, was arrested on Aug. 20 on an aggravated murder charge in connection with Slone’s death and indicted by a grand jury a week later for aggravated murder with a gun specification and a repeat violent offender specification, kidnapping, murder, and two counts of possessing weapons while disabled.
Hart is expected to testify against Davis.
