KENT COUNTY, Mich. — The Kent County Prosecutor's Office presented enough evidence surrounding a 1980s killing to convince the judge to bind over the case to circuit court for trial.
Nearly 40 years after Burnett Frierson was killed in his home, the man accused in his killing appeared in court Monday.
Ronald Davis, 68, was first arrested in December 2023 in connection to Frierson's stabbing death on Sept. 4, 1985.
In court on Monday, the state shared testimony from a detective on the case, showed crime photos and even played a portion of audio from a police interview with Davis.
Davis' defense attorney objected to the bind over, arguing that Davis gave a statement to police after the crime happened in the 1980s, he didn't flee the area then, and said he's not a flight risk because he's got family here.
"I don't think he's a danger to anybody. If he was involved with this, if he wasn't involved with this, it was a very long time ago. We respectfully request that the court consider a lesser cash bond," the attorney said.
Ultimately, the judge decided to send the murder case to circuit court.
"I do understand the arguments for lessening the bond. I appreciate Mr. Davis that you've gone on and had a productive life, and did make a statement," the judge said.
"However, after hearing that evidence today, I would say that your statement puts you there and this was a very violent homicide, to say the least, so I believe bond is appropriate."
Davis' defense attorney argued for a lower bond but was denied. His bond remains set at $250,000.
His attorney entered a not-guilty plea on his behalf.
A wallet, the contents of a man's pockets and some other personal property was the motive for the bloody killing, investigators say.
A friend hadn't heard from Frierson, 48, and that's when he was found stabbed to death in his living room.
Forensics technicians found drops of blood in several areas of Frierson's house, including his bedroom, kitchen and bathroom. But it wasn't his.
Detectives at the time sent some of that blood to a lab to get tested. No dice. Authorities put that blood sample believed to be the suspect's into the national Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), where it laid dormant.
Investigators got a match in August 2023.
Grand Rapids Police said Davis was arrested on an unrelated felony. Michigan law now requires those facing felony charges to give a DNA sample.
Detectives now believe they have their man.
The alleged killer lived less than two miles away from where Frierson was found stabbed to death inside his home 39 years ago.
When detectives went to question Davis at his home, he initially denied any knowledge of Frierson and the crime scene, court documents detail. But after more questions, he abruptly changed his story.
Davis admitted he was there at the time of the killing, and acknowledged the reason for the murder was robbery.
Police issued a warrant and arrested Davis on Dec. 19, 2023.
“Justice for Mr. Frierson has been a long time coming,” said Chief Eric Winstrom. “GRPD never considers an unsolved murder closed. I’m thankful for the professionalism and tenacity of our detectives—then and now.”
Investigators are still looking for more information on this case. If you have anything that could help police, call Grand Rapids detectives at (616) 456-3380 or Silent Observer at (616) 774-2345 or www.silentobserver.org.
As of September 2020, CODIS had aided in over 520,000 investigations nationwide, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
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