Staff Reports
T. Cullen Davis, the Texas oil tycoon once at the center of one of the state’s most famous murder cases, has died at 93 at his home in Colleyville, his son Trey Davis said. The family announcement brings back the strange, headline-grabbing story of a man who was tried twice on the most serious charges and walked away after juries returned not-guilty verdicts. For those who remember the mansion shooting, the name still sticks.
The mansion shooting that made headlines
In August of 1976 a gunman burst into the Fort Worth-area Stonegate mansion. Two people were killed — 12-year-old Andrea Wilborn and Stan Farr — and two others, including Priscilla Davis, were wounded. Three survivors later identified T. Cullen Davis as the shooter and prosecutors charged him with capital murder in Wilborn’s death. The case became a national spectacle and the face of tabloid-era crime reporting.
Trials, acquittals and an oil fortune
Prominent lawyer Richard “Racehorse” Haynes defended Davis. A first trial ended in a mistrial and a second ended in acquittal in 1977. Nine months later, after an informant alleged Davis had tried to hire killers, he faced a solicitation-for-murder trial and was acquitted again. At the time, his oil holdings were valued near $400 million. The oil crash later wiped out much of that fortune, but the trials kept his name in the papers and even inspired a TV miniseries.
Faith, family and a quieter last chapter
His son Trey says Cullen Davis became a Christian in 1981 and that religion changed him. In later years he lived quietly in Colleyville and spoke about his faith and family rather than courtrooms and headlines. That shift probably disappointed the true crime crowd and delighted his relatives — but it also underlines a simple fact about people: messy lives can still include sincere change.
Why his death matters — and what it teaches
T. Cullen Davis leaves a complicated legacy: victims who died, survivors who remembered him differently, juries that acquitted him, and a public that still argues about what justice looks like. Conservatives who worry about mob judgment and “trial by media” should note that juries did their job under the Constitution. Yes, wealth buys good lawyers — and yes, the press loves a scandal — but the legal system gave Davis the verdicts that stand. That doesn’t erase pain or questions, but in a free society the presumption of innocence and the finality of jury verdicts are not optional. His death closes a chapter on a notorious Texas story, one that will be debated for years to come.
