The views and opinions expressed in Cold and Missing are exclusively those of the hosts. All parties mentioned are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Cold and Missing also contains adult themes and languages. Listener discretion is advised. I'm your host, Ali McLaughlin -Sulkowski. And I'm your co -host, Eli Sulkowski. And this is Cold and Missing, where we cover cold cases and missing person cases. Hello and welcome back to Cold and Missing. I'm your host,
Ali . And I'm your co -host, Eli. Welcome back, everyone. Thank you to everyone who has started following us on our Instagram at coldandmissing. We've gotten a lot of followers over this past week and people sharing and commenting. So just thank you to everyone who is reaching out and following us. And if you've been following us for a long time because you're an original fan, then thank you. Yeah, as the podcast continues,
it's always... Wonderful to see the followers number tick upwards because we know that you all are sharing the cases that Ali covers and that we discuss and it really means a lot. So thank you. But with that, I think we should just go ahead and get into this week's case. We are on episode 129 this week and we are covering a cold case. Yep, cold case. And just as a quick content warning at the top, this case does involve a young person. Today, we are talking about the
cold case of Joshua Matthew Davis. And this takes place in January of 2004 in Garner, North Carolina. But first, a little bit about Joshua. Joshua had just turned 16. His 16th birthday was a week before in December of 2003. He was a student at Gardner High School and was a popular kid there. Josh lived with his dad, but his mom is only a few blocks away, so he was able to walk back and forth between the two homes to see them. He spends a lot of time with his dad. They would
ride dirt bikes and work out together. His dad admittedly spoiled him. As I mentioned before, Josh was well -liked at school. He was popular, especially amongst the girls. His family painted a picture that Josh was like a peacock. He was particular about his appearance and knew that he was popular. Our relatives of Joshua said, quote, a ladies' man, a legend in his own mind, end quote. For a period, he had a new girlfriend every month, and then he started dating somebody
steady for around six months. Right before our timeline picks up, he had just broken up with his long -term girlfriend and had started dating a new girl. Also in the months leading up to the timeline, Josh and his friends would experience altercations with other people when they were out together. Him and his friends had been assaulted by people in a sport utility vehicle, and then there was another altercation at a Garner movie theater and they were chased by people in a car.
And now a timeline of events. Tuesday, January 6th, 2004. It's unclear exactly what Josh was up to during that day. Our timeline, however, picks up that evening of Tuesday, January 6th. Joshua and his 17 -year -old cousin Michael wanted to go play basketball at Joshua's dad's house. The house was close by, only a 10 -minute walk from where they were, so they set out around
6 .45 p .m. Just a few minutes after leaving the house, Josh's cousin Michael realizes that he forgot a CD that he wanted to bring with him. He tells Josh to wait for him there and he'll run back to the house and grab it. They were still close to the house. They weren't even at the end of the road yet. Michael turns around and runs back to the house and leaves Josh standing
there. When he returns just a few minutes later, he finds Josh laying on the ground, unconscious, on a bed of pine needles and bleeding from his head. Michael immediately runs to the house of the Andrews and bangs on their front door. When Daphne Andrews answers the door, She says, quote, he said, please call 911. I think my cousin has been hit by a car, end quote. And then Michael takes off running for the family home to get others. Josh's dad is also quickly alerted, and
he walks over from his house. When his dad, David Davis, gets there, he sees Josh with a large wound above his ear. His dad says, quote, looked like he got hit upside the head, end quote. Josh is rushed to the hospital, where he will die from his injuries. Back at the scene, police are investigating it. Because Josh was found on the side of the road, they start working the
case as a hit -and -run. But after taking a closer look at the evidence, or lack of evidence at the scene, police announce that it's a homicide investigation. Police say, quote, Everything was in an area that led us to believe something other than that occurred, end quote. So police believe, based on the evidence, that something else happened to Josh, not just a hit and run with a car. However, they also point out that there were no signs of a struggle at the scene.
Police spend the rest of the evening combing the area. They bring in dogs to search to try to find any other evidence or even a murder weapon, but they're not able to find anything in the sweep. The next day, Wednesday, January 7th, police start talking to friends and family of Josh to learn more about him. It's here that police first start hearing rumors about boyfriend -girlfriend drama that Josh was involved in.
In fact, police find a first round of suspects but quickly are able to eliminate them when they all have strong alibis. It's also during these interviews that a friend of Joshua's comes forward and says that he had a cell phone message on his phone from Josh's cell phone. There was no talking, but the friend heard what sounded like a struggle, footsteps, and moaning. However, the friend accidentally deleted the message before police are able to listen to it. On Thursday,
January 8th, Josh was killed on Tuesday. Police still do not have any possible suspects at this point and are asking anyone that knew of any conflict that Joshua was involved in to please come forward. Police say, quote, we know about the boyfriend -girlfriend situation and we're looking into that, end quote. Police also reaffirm to the media that they believe it's a homicide. But they do leave open the possibility that perhaps a car with something sticking out of it hit Joshua.
though they say that this scenario seems very unlikely. A memorial springs up in the area where Josh had been found. Notes left by friends, stuffed animals, and around 50 candles all mark the spot. Garner High School students leave notes for him, some reading, quote, I'm going to miss you always, and remember, you'll always be my husband, end quote. And another said, Heather, your hot mama, P .S., we'll make that picture of us together
when we meet in heaven. The next day on Friday, just three days after his murder, and just a little over two weeks since his 16th birthday, Joshua is laid to rest. Police are still talking to his friends, and they also mention that they're looking into the incidents that happened prior to this, where Josh and his friends were chased by someone in a car and then assaulted by some
people in a sports utility vehicle. On Wednesday, January 14th, So it's been over a week since Josh was found on the side of the road, and police, for the first time, go through his room and computer for evidence. His family is frustrated that it's taken police this long to look through his room. Lots of Josh's friends had come over to his dad's house after his funeral and had spent a lot of
time in his room. His dad says, quote, any incriminating evidence that was in that room that would have incriminated anyone in that group is probably gone now. On Friday, January 16th, the medical examiner says that Joshua was likely killed by a moving vehicle. The medical examiner said that Joshua's hit at an angle above the right ear with, quote, a great deal of force, end quote. The hit peeled back tissue and fractured his
skull in a radiating pattern. The medical examiner says, quote, To cause a fracture like that, it usually has to be a direct blow or something that is moving at a high rate of speed, end quote. The medical examiner believes that the impact resembles injuries with a car or, quote, possibly a side mirror or something hanging off or onto
the vehicle, end quote. The medical examiner said that he spoke with others who agreed with his opinion, but he also acknowledges that he can't rule out that something else caused the blow. like a bat or something else rigid, and that the scene itself was not consistent with a car accident. The medical examiner says that police were left with, quote, with absolutely no evidence at the scene, end quote, which is
unusual for a car accident. Normally there would be debris of some kind, paint transfer happening, but that was not found to be the case here. Police don't comment on the medical examiner's opinion. They just say that they have a very difficult case and they're still interviewing people in Josh's life. In the middle of February, so it's been over a month now since Josh was killed, and police arrest an 18 -year -old for lying
to police about Joshua's case. The 18 -year -old is charged with one count of obstructing justice. Police say that the teen told police that he knew who killed Josh because he was there when it happened. He gave a written and oral statement to police that police were able to determine was a lie. The person that he accused of murdering Josh had no connection to him or the crime. Police are frustrated that they have gotten false information
in this case. They say, quote, This kind of behavior, for whatever reason, is counterproductive and can result in criminal charges of persons willing to provide false or misleading information, end quote. In March of 2004, so it's been over two months since Josh's murder, and police release a composite sketch of a person who was seen close
to where Joshua was found. The person was seen by several witnesses, quote, tripping over himself, end quote, as he ran away from the scene right about the time that Josh's body was discovered. Police would like to talk to the person. They describe him as being in his mid -teens to mid -twenties, broad in the shoulders, and had an athletic build. The suspect was wearing a white hooded sweatshirt, Carolina blue athletic pants with white stripes down both sides, and white
tennis shoes. There are also rumors that a rival of Josh's at school rode by in a car and hit him with a baseball bat. That boy lawyered up and never spoke to police, according to Josh's dad. Despite the initial coverage and leads in the case, Joshua's case quickly falls out of the media and appears to go cold, though police are working on it in the background. Because in January of 2007, so it's been over three years since Josh was killed, and police say that they
now believe that Josh was hit by a car. They say they hired a private firm to recreate the accident and the scenario was that most likely he was hit by a car. However, years later, when police and his family talk about the case, like in 2014 and 2018, there is no mention of it being a hit and run. There's no mention of a car being involved at all. Police say, in later years of 2014 and 2018, that they're still trying to figure out what happened and list his cause of death
as something hitting him in the head. The case today on the state police website lists his cause of death as a blow to the head. However, I think his mother sums it up perfectly. His mother says, quote, So with that, if you know anything about the murder of Joshua Davis in January of 2004, please call the Garner Police Department at 919 -773 -6070. So that is the cold case of Joshua Davis. This is one of those cases where I immediately upon listening experience quite a bit of anxiety.
mostly because of the way it almost seems he was blinked out of reality because of how quickly it happened. You know, his cousin stepped away. It was just a handful of minutes and he was hit and then he was gone. And with cases like these, I just, the questions can't come out of me fast enough the timeline and what was happening in that moment. So I'm very eager to cover and discuss
this case. And just hearing about Josh in general, I don't know, most of us, I assume, listening have been to high school or in a high school environment, and there's always a boy like Josh. He sounded very sweet and like a lover boy. I liked hearing about him. I liked hearing that he had a good relationship with both of his parents, even though they weren't together anymore, that he had a strong relationship with his dad. I
wish so more for him. Yeah. You know, I loved the description that Josh's family and friends gave of him. And it quite honestly reminded me a lot of my brother in high school. The way that Josh was described is exactly how I would have described my brother in high school, like a peacock
walking around. And I, like you, when I came across Josh's case, the timeline of it brought up a lot of questions for me, which is really why I wanted to dig into the case and start researching it, because I just had so many questions myself. Because like you said, it's a very quick amount of time. I think his mother sums it up really great. I'm not quoting her exactly, but she says something along the lines of he left at 645 and he was dead by 705. Like that is really how quickly
the time was in all of that. Yeah. So just jumping in here, this doesn't immediately correlate with his timeline. But to start at the top, I wanted to know what you made of the attacks slash chases by other school rivals. Yeah, that was an interesting piece that. didn't come up as much as I thought it would in my research, but I'm not sure if it is rivals from other schools or rivals within the schools. The people in these altercations, it's never clear if it's like other students
or like adults or what exactly it was. But one question that I had around that was, did Josh like give the impression that these two incidents were the same people or did they seem to be caused by two different people? Separate groups. That's something that I question because to me, if they're the same people that I mean, that gives me a direction to like look at and investigate for sure. Yeah, I think it's absolutely something
worth paying attention to. I'm glad that police did because in other cases we've covered before, they tend to not really listen to the kids or just chalk it up to regular teenage drama. And the fact that. He was someone who did have experience like pointed attacks on him or maybe his group of friends. I think it's worth paying attention to, especially in this case. Yeah, for sure.
I'd love to know if anything came out of that, if they were able to pinpoint who the people were involved in those altercations or if they were ever able to get more information. Just getting back into the timeline a little bit, I'm curious to know what the terrain and road. looked like. I'm blanking on where you said this happened, so I couldn't even fill it in in my mind. So this happened in Garner, North Carolina. So in this area, tall, tall pine trees everywhere.
The particular road where this happened. There are no sidewalks. So I thought that was something important to note when I was looking at Google Maps. No sidewalks in this area. So you would be walking next to the road kind of like in a ditch if you were walking along the road. But it does appear to be like more of a rural country
road, but something with heavy traffic. Like even when I was looking at Google Maps, like there was constantly traffic and like even... I saw somebody like out walking a dog in Google Maps. So it's like it is a walkable area, it seems, but lots of traffic still. Thank you. And that makes sense to me. I mean, even if the city that you are living in itself isn't a rural area, there are lots of roads in big city spaces that appear that way just within a short space
of time. I'm thinking of even roads in Chicago where we are that. Sometimes you'll round a corner and it is just a large stretch of tall trees where lots of cars are turning that corner. But that's really all there is happening. So really what I was trying to nail down was, is this a space where it wouldn't be visible to anyone else as the crime was happening? And I think
that kind of answers my question that, yes. For this small moment of time, someone driving by, walking by, whatever it is that happened, they could get away with not being seen while doing it. Yeah, there are houses, you know, all along the street where Josh was found. But like you said, if somebody wasn't looking out the window or walking by or a car passing by, it would be
easy to go unnoticed. And just to continue in the timeline as my questions were bubbling up, one of the first things I wrote down was, Was something thrown at him? And obviously you've covered that in tying the timeline together that there is probability there, but there's probability in a lot of different scenarios. So I'm glad that my mind is naturally asking the questions that law enforcement did to just pinpoint the area of where and or how this could have happened.
Another question I had was, was he initially responding at all or was he after being hit, was he unconscious or just incapacitated? And I don't know if you know, but I'm just curious to know that information. So from my understanding and from everything I've read, it does seem like by the time his cousin gets back, he is unconscious
and not. talking to anybody um or responding vocally in any way but there is that mention of like a phone call or like a voicemail left where that person said that he heard like moaning that was literally my next question and i don't really know what to make of it but what i wrote down was what do you make of that phone call i'm so sad that it doesn't exist anymore yeah
i um It's one of those things I wonder. I have to think that the technology existed to retrieve deleted messages even in 2004, but maybe it didn't. But yeah, that voicemail. You know, did Josh have a cell phone on him when he was found? I think that's like a question that I have. It seems like there might have been one at the scene. It's mentioned a little bit in the beginning, but kind of falls out of the details throughout
the years. Yeah, it's a hard case because we know that a lot of people came forward trying to be helpful or whatever, but gave false information. I would think in this case, you know, his friend wouldn't lie about hearing this thing. You know, the other case where we have somebody lying, it seems like they were trying to point the finger and get somebody in trouble. But there's no reason to lie about this message. So I am very curious about it. And I'd be interested if Josh did have
a cell phone. So did that number dial this friend? I think it's easy to see. tell if this did happen. So I would just be curious what came of that because it's never mentioned again. Do you think that, and go with me here because I, again, I think this is speculation, but as if we're kind of navigating this case as if it was a hit and run or that it was a hit and run and or someone passing by him and causing a great impact to his head. Do you think that the timing of their
walk was somehow coordinated? And by that, I mean, did someone know that they were going to be walking that section of the road? Did they know that his cousin was going to step away momentarily? Or if not, were they watching? That's kind of how I have filled in the details in my head. to make it possible for this crime to happen so quickly without anyone being there the moment his cousin walks back up to him. So I know there's a lot to expand on there, but I'm just curious
to know what your thoughts are. The timing of it does feel really important. You know, if there was, like you said, somebody watching, waiting, and then saw the moment when the cousin turned around to grab the CD. And then took the opportunity to confront Josh when he was by himself. Or, you know, the other idea of him being hit by a car. It's like, okay, then a car just passes by momentarily in that moment and hits him on
accident and doesn't stop. The timing of it is so, like, it's so small when his cousin is not there. And nobody heard anything. You know, the
Andrews. house is right there from my understanding it seems like Joshua was in the Andrews yard and they didn't hear anything they were having dinner at the time and they didn't hear shouting a car screeching to a halt a car hitting you know they didn't hear anything until they heard the banging on the door so the timing is so slim and it makes you wonder if there is intention in it or if it's just like the timing was just
like all and it just happened that way. Yeah, I think there's room for deep speculation on both ends of that, that because the timing is so, it's such a short timeline, it could absolutely be an accident or it could be a very pointed, coordinated attack on him. I think you summed it up kind of perfectly. That's what's so heartbreaking about this case is that it could so easily be one or the other or a multitude of different possibilities. I also just wanted to echo here.
It was mentioned a couple times that they were just in his bedroom after he had passed away. There were a lot of teens or people just moving in and out of his room. There are a lot of moving parts. And that there were a lot of people spoken to about this case. A lot of people came forward and gave wrong information, whether it was intentional or not. And I just have to echo here that there's a lot of congestion for law enforcement to kind
of sift through. And the sifting just becomes bigger and bigger and bigger as more time passes. I think it makes finding an answer in this case all that much more difficult. It does, for sure. The time passing, you know, it takes them a while to go through his room, which that to me was surprising that it took over a week for police to go through his room just to look for evidence and to take his computer. I think today police would take, you know, electronics first thing,
but they waited for a week. His family can't help but think, did something go missing during that time that could have helped solve this case? Yeah, there's just a lot to move through. And then there's also the witnesses who saw the composite sketch that we'll have up on our Instagram, who saw that man running away from the scene about the same time that Joshua was found. So it's like, what came of that? Did they ever find that person? Did they talk to him? Like, who was that?
That was my very last question. It kind of shocked me that it came at the end that there was someone who was possibly a suspect or a witness and in very bright clothing. I specifically took note of that because if you were in bright clothing, to me, it would seem like you were there accidentally or forced to be there. A lot of speculative motions in my head started going once I heard that. And his mom summed it up. I mean, it's heartbreaking, but beautifully of. I just want to know what
happened. It's of course, you know, I would imagine she wants her son back, but like it seemed like even moving past that. I just want to know what happened in those final minutes. I could not echo her more. I think this case is solvable, especially now with technological advancement. I'm hoping that there are records we can comb through that uncover something here. What his mom said was perfect. It all ends the same with Joshua being gone and her and his family just
wanting to know what happened to him. Whether this is... an intentional act or like an accidental hit and run whatever the case is it's a crime still happened here and a 16 year old was still left for dead and that is a crime and joshua's family his parents his cousins his sister they all deserve to know what happened to him and they they want to know those answers and i agree i think this case is solvable i hope that Someone comes forward with information that's been maybe
sitting on them for years. To be able to give the family the answers that they are looking for, I think would be very healing. But again, if you know anything about the murder of Joshua Davis in January of 2004, please call the Garner Police Department at 919 -773 -6070. As always, I will be providing the graphics for Joshua's case. We will have a picture of him and the suspect sketch that Ali described at the end of the
timeline. And you can find those graphics at Cold and Missing on Instagram and on our website at coldandmissing .com. And if you could leave us a review in your podcast app, five stars, a written review goes a long way. Or you can leave comments now in Spotify. We would appreciate it so much. And it really helps others find this podcast. You know, if you're visiting our Instagram at coldandmissing or our website, www .coldandmissing .com, you can also find transcripts, all our
old episodes. You can find ways to contact us. So all that information can be found out there. So make sure you're following us, sharing, subscribing, all that jazz so you don't miss a single episode. That's all I have for you this week, though. Thank you so much for listening to Cold and Missing. I'm your host, Ali . And I'm your co -host, Eli. Have a good week and stay safe, y 'all. Stay safe, y 'all.