Oil tycoon accused of murder dies at 93; inspired ‘90s TV show

NewsThis file photo shows millionaire oil tycoon T. Cullen Davis, in court on Feb. 23, 1977, in Fort Worth, Texas, where he will go on trial for capital murder charges for the slaying of his step daughter Andrea Wilborn. (AP Photo/FK, File)AP PhotoBy Geoff Herbert | gherbert@syracuse.comA Texas oil tycoon who was famously accused of murder and inspired a ‘90s TV show is dead at age 93.The Associated Press reports T. Cullen Davis, who was the wealthiest man to stand trial for murder in a 1970s case, died Friday at his home in the Forth Worth suburb of Colleyville. A cause of death was not specified.Davis made national news in 1976 when two people were killed during a contentious divorce from his second wife, Priscilla Davis. The AP reports Priscilla’s daughter, Andrea Wilborn, 12, and her live-in boyfriend, Stan Farr, 30, were shot by a gunman dressed in black and wearing a woman’s wig at a secluded Fort Worth mansion. Priscilla and a visitor, Gus “Bubba” Gavrel Jr., were both wounded but survived; Gavrel’s date escaped unharmed.According to the AP, the three survivors identified Cullen Davis as the shooter. The wealthy industrialist was tried for capital murder in the death of Wilborn; the first trial ended in a mistrial due to juror misconduct and the second ended in an acquittal in 1977.Nine months later, Davis was arrested and charged with solicitation of capital murder. He was accused of trying to hire a gunman to kill 15 people, including the judge presiding over his divorce case and the three survivors of the shooting.The murder-for-hire case also ended in an acquittal. Davis always maintained his innocence.The story made national news, was covered by true-crime television shows, and inspired multiple books. The story was also adapted into a 1995 TV miniseries, “Texas Justice,” starring Heather Locklear as Priscilla Davis, Peter Strauss as Cullen Davis, and “NYPD Blue” star Dennis Franz as Cullen’s attorney, Richard “Racehorse” Haynes.According to the AP, Davis’ oil-based empire was valued at $400 million at the time of the shooting. A decade later, his business began to crumble and he said his company went bankrupt in the mid-’90s “because of the crash of the oil industry, not because of my trials.”Priscilla Davis died of breast cancer in 2001 at the age of 59.Cullen Davis’ death was announced Monday by his son Trey Davis, adopted by Cullen from his third marriage to Karen Master. Trey described his father as as someone who “stood with his arms wide open, willing to lovingly accept you regardless of where you stood in life.”Cullen Davis was “a fairly caustic person” when they first met in the late ‘70s, Trey told the AP, but that changed when he became a Christian.“He became a Christian in 1981 and a lot of things changed,” Trey said. ”He took that very seriously, his dedication to Christ. He was a man of virtue, integrity, grit and humility.”Geoff "DeafGeoff" Herbert is a Reporter and Content Supervisor for Advance Local. He covers a wide range of topics including entertainment, national news and trending topics, plus specializes in search engine...