Childhood friend admits to killing soldier’s wife in her sleep on Georgia base, feds say
A Georgia man has admitted killing the wife of a deployed U.S. soldier on post at Fort Stewart Army Base near Savannah, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Georgia’s Southern District said Thursday.
Stafon Jamar Davis pleaded guilty to charges of premeditated murder and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon in the 2018 shooting death of Abree Boykin, 24, as she she slept at her on-post residence, according to federal prosecutors. Davis, 28, had previously served federal prison time for armed robbery and was freed, officials said.
Boykin was the wife of Sgt. Shawn Boykin, who Army officials said was deployed in South Korea when his wife was killed. He asked base officials to conduct a welfare check when she missed his phone call, the Associated Press reported.
“This was a horrific and senseless murder of a member of our Army family,” Chris Grey, spokesman for the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command, said in a statement. “Our highly-trained special agents worked tirelessly and methodically with our law enforcement partners to bring this individual to justice.”
Davis, who’s described as a childhood friend of the victim, admitted to fatally shooting Boykin in the early hours of July 9, 2018, before fleeing the military base in her car, federal prosecutors said. Authorities later arrested him in West Palm Beach, Florida.
U.S. Attorney Bobby L. Christine said he hoped Davis’ admission would help “bring some degree of closure in this horrific crime against the spouse of a deployed American soldier.”
“Our law enforcement agencies and prosecutors have performed outstanding work in bringing this killer to justice,” Christine said in a statement.
A motive for the shooting is still unclear.
