Nurse accused of murder plot freed on bond

When Fathia-Anna Davis discussed the contract killing of her husband, she had a specific request, prosecutors say.

She told the undercover detectives posing as hit men that she wanted her ex shot in the stomach or head. Davis said she didn’t want him to recover, prosecutors say.

Friday, the Mecklenburg County nursing supervisor was in federal court, charged with racketeering murder. Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Gleason called her a flight risk and asked U.S. Magistrate Judge David Cayer to keep her jailed.

At the urging of her attorney, John Snyder of Charlotte, Cayer freed Davis and set a $100,000 unsecured bond. The judge placed Davis under electronic monitoring and ordered her to give up her passport and not carry a weapon.

Davis, currently suspended without pay from the county health department, was arrested Tuesday. Prosecutors say she tried to arrange the killing of her former husband while hiding her role.

To keep her bank from becoming suspicious, she borrowed a $500 down payment for the contract killing from a friend, Gleason said. And on the day of the hit, she moved a meeting with the supposed killers to dodge the surveillance cameras at a gasoline station.

In 2009, Davis became embroiled in a court fight with her then-husband over child custody and child support, court records show. The couple divorced in 2011.

A year later, Davis received a temporary restraining order against her former husband. That same year, she was charged with misdemeanor simple assault against him.

On Jan. 21, according to documents, Davis tried to hire a man to commit the murder. Instead, he told Charlotte police about her plans and later introduced her to the undercover officers.

On Feb. 15, Davis agreed to pay the detectives $4,000 to shoot her ex-husband, records show. She guided the detectives to her ex-husband’s house, showed them an old photograph of him and told them she’d draw a $300 deposit from an ATM “right now,” documents say.

The detectives told Davis to meet with them the following week with a current photograph and a $500 deposit.

Last Sunday, she met with the detectives a second time and showed them she had the full $4,000, but paid them the $500 deposit, records show.

The detectives said Davis was given several opportunities to withdraw her request, and she said she knew “this is final.” She was told to call if she changed her mind. She never did.

On the day the killing was to take place, prosecutors say, Davis again met with the detectives.

She asked if they had finished the job, prosecutors say. Told that they had, she paid them the $3,500 balance.

This story was originally published February 27, 2015 at 12:47 PM with the headline "Nurse accused of murder plot freed on bond."