GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — After 38 years, an arrest has been made in a Grand Rapids murder case.
68-year-old Ronald Davis was taken into custody in connection to the death of 48-year-old Burnett Frierson, who was killed back on Sept. 4, 1985.
Frierson was found stabbed to death in his home in the 500 block of Sheldon Avenue SE. Investigators were unable to find his killer, but some DNA from the suspect was put into the national Combined DNA Index System (CODIS).
In August, a match was made after Davis provided DNA in an unrelated arrest.
Police issued a warrant and arrested Davis Tuesday.
“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.”
Davis is now lodged at the Kent County Correctional Facility.
Investigators are still looking for any 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.
►Make it easy to keep up to date with more stories like this. Download the 13 ON YOUR SIDE app now.
Have a news tip? Email news@13onyourside.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter. Subscribe to our YouTube channel.
Watch 13 ON YOUR SIDE for free on Roku, Amazon Fire TV Stick, and on your phone.