“A Death in the Stairwell”: 48 Hours Investigates the Alison Davis Case October 11 2025

CBS’s 48 Hours returns on Saturday, October 11, 2025, with a compelling new episode titled A Death in the Stairwell. Airing at 10:00 PM ET/PT, the episode dives into the 2023 death of Kevin Davis in New Haven, Indiana, and the murder trial that followed. Correspondent Peter Van Sant examines how a seemingly straightforward accident spiraled into a complex courtroom drama that saw Alison Davis, Kevin’s wife, fighting for her freedom and reputation.

• Where Is Alison Davis Now? 2025 Update & Background
• Who Was Kevin Davis and What Happened to Him? 2025 Update & Background

The Morning of the Incident

On August 12, 2023, Alison Davis called 911 around 4:30 a.m., reporting that she had found her husband, Kevin Davis, lying unconscious at the bottom of their staircase. She claimed she had been asleep and awoke to a loud thud. According to her statements, Kevin had likely fallen down the stairs. Emergency responders arrived to find Kevin in a pool of blood. He was barely breathing, and despite being transported to a hospital, he died later that same day.

Alison gave varying accounts to different people about what had happened. While she initially told police they had been drinking and got into an argument before going to bed, she told Kevin’s mother a different version—that Kevin had not been drinking and had gone to get water. Medics at the scene recalled her demeanor as “odd,” even describing her as laughing with paramedics while her husband was gravely injured. These inconsistencies would eventually form the basis for a murder charge.

From Suspected Accident to Homicide Allegation

Investigators soon became suspicious of Alison’s version of events. Medical personnel noted that Kevin’s injuries were isolated to his head and not consistent with those typically seen in a fall down the stairs. He had multiple skull and orbital fractures, and his core body temperature was dangerously low, suggesting he may have been lying there for hours before help was called.

An autopsy revealed that Kevin’s skull had been crushed on the right side, with the forensic pathologist concluding that he had been struck with a blunt object and was brain-dead upon impact. No such weapon was recovered, but prosecutors argued that Alison had ample time to dispose of it before calling 911.

Court documents also cited Alison’s shifting narratives and lack of visible concern as factors supporting the prosecution’s theory that Kevin’s death was not accidental. By late 2023, Alison Davis was formally charged with murder and held without bond at the Allen County Jail.

The Trial and the Arguments

The trial of Alison Davis began in Allen County Superior Court in 2025, nearly two years after Kevin’s death. Prosecutor Tesa Helge argued that Alison staged the scene and that her behavior and statements undermined her credibility. Helge emphasized the lack of environmental evidence supporting a fall—there were no broken balusters, no displaced furniture, and no signs of a struggle in the stairwell.

The defense team, led by Andrew Baldwin and Maxwell Wiley, countered with the claim that Kevin had been heavily intoxicated and likely hit his head on the banister during a fall. They challenged the credibility of the prosecution’s experts and argued that the case lacked definitive physical evidence tying Alison to a weapon or violent act. One of the key moments in the defense’s case came through testimony from Dr. Ljubisa Dragovic, a forensic neuropathologist, who supported the defense’s theory of accidental death.

Crucially, the defense had access to data from Alison’s Garmin smartwatch, which allegedly supported her version of events by documenting her movement, heart rate, and sleep patterns that night. However, the judge ruled that the data could not be shown to the jury, citing the company’s own disclaimers about medical accuracy.

Expert Testimony and Medical Debate

The courtroom became a battleground of medical opinions. The prosecution presented three forensic doctors, including Dr. Scott Wagner, who maintained that Kevin’s head trauma was the result of a deliberate blow, not a fall. Wagner described the injury as resulting from a “brutal beating,” noting the absence of blood transfer or other biological material on the banister.

In contrast, Dr. Dragovic testified that Kevin could have died from a single impact to the head caused by falling onto a hard surface. He emphasized that not all blunt-force injuries present with transfer evidence and maintained that the autopsy did not definitively prove homicide.

This contradiction between experts left the jury with competing interpretations of the same forensic data. It became clear that the medical evidence alone might not be enough to secure a conviction unless paired with compelling circumstantial support.

The Verdict and Aftermath

After a trial that gripped the community and drew national attention from outlets like 48 Hours and Court TV, the jury deliberated for six and a half hours. On May 9, 2025, Alison Davis was found not guilty of murder in the death of her husband.

Her defense team described the outcome as a triumph of justice. Both Baldwin and Wiley spoke publicly after the verdict, saying they believed in Alison’s innocence from the beginning. Wiley emphasized that it’s rare in their profession to represent someone they believe to be truly innocent, calling the trial “a life-altering fight.”

Despite the not-guilty verdict, the prosecution stood by its original decision to charge Alison. Helge reiterated her position that the evidence pointed to foul play and suggested that the ban on Garmin data did not significantly affect the case outcome.

Following her release in the early hours of May 10, Alison Davis quietly resumed her life. Her first meal out of jail was wings and pizza—an understated end to a high-profile trial that had captured attention far beyond Indiana.

The Bigger Questions

A Death in the Stairwell raises broader questions about the challenges of prosecuting—or defending—cases hinging on forensic interpretation and behavioral evidence. With no eyewitnesses, no murder weapon, and inconclusive forensic certainty, the jury was tasked with weighing narratives shaped by both science and emotion.

The case of Kevin and Alison Davis will remain a case study in how domestic tragedies can defy easy answers, and how courtroom outcomes often hinge on more than just the evidence—they depend on interpretation, persuasion, and reasonable doubt.

Tune into 48 Hours on Saturday, October 11, 2025, for a complete investigation into this complex and haunting case.

More “A Death in the Stairwell”

• “A Death in the Stairwell”: 48 Hours Investigates the Alison Davis Case October 11 2025
• Where Is Alison Davis Now? 2025 Update & Background
• Who Was Kevin Davis and What Happened to Him? 2025 Update & Background

More Feature Articles