SAN ANGELO, Texas — A familiar face to West Texans appeared in the daily Tom Green County Jail logs Tuesday morning.
Many may recall the case of now 40-year-old Wendi Mae Davidson, a local veterinarian convicted in the 2005 death of her husband, Michael Severance.
Davidson has been transported back to San Angelo for an appearance at a civil hearing Wednesday morning at the Tom Green County Courthouse. She's serving a 25-year sentence for Severance's death in the Lane Murray Unit in Gatesville.
Davidson was eligible for parole on April 15, 2019. A parole board denied Davidson's request for release in May 2019.
A missing persons case uncovers a murder
According to court documents, on Sunday, Jan. 16, 2005, Davidson reported Severance as a missing person. She told law enforcement Severance had been missing since the previous day, stating the last time she saw her husband was at the residence she shared with him.
San Angelo Police opened a missing persons investigation, where they learned Severance was an enlisted member of the United States Air Force, stationed at Dyess Air Force Base in Abilene. A special agent from the USAF Office of Special Investigations assisted the SAPD detective working the case, as well as the Texas Rangers.
Friends and family members who were interviewed told investigators they had not seen or had contact with Severance since Jan. 14, 2005.
On Feb. 27, 2005, court documents state the OSI special agent conducted surveillance of Davidson's Chevrolet Camaro and found the vehicle had been driven to a rural ranch on Sutton Road in Tom Green County. The Camaro stopped near a stock pond at the ranch, remained momentarily, then left the area.
The agent interviewed Davidson on March 4, 2005, confirming with her that she had been to the ranch on Sutton Road approximately three weeks prior.
On the same day, the SAPD detective and the OSI agent met, where the OSI agent confirmed that in early February 2005, Davidson had done an internet search for information in reference to the decomposition of a body in water. They learned of the search after forensic analysis of a laptop that had been seized in the investigation.
In an interview with Davidson on March 5, 2005, Davidson was interviewed by the SAPD detective and said she had been to the ranch on Sutton Road one to two weeks prior to "cut wood" with her father. Davidson said she had access to the ranch. On that day, the detective told Davidson he would seek to search a pond located on the ranch.
After the interview, Davidson left San Angelo and traveled to the ranch, where an SAPD sergeant met with her as she was attempting to unlock the ranch gates. Davidson told the officer she was there to check on the welfare of a horse.
Later that evening, Davidson's brother, Marshall, contacted the SAPD detective asking him to meet at the Grape Creek Cemetery, where he and Wendi Davidson met the detective. At that meeting, Davidson stated to her brother that she did not kill "him", but someone did.
The same evening, Marshall Davidson was interviewed by the detective and said just prior to him contacting the department, he had spoken to his sister. According to the affidavit, Wendi told her brother that on Jan. 15, 2005, she had arrived at her residence and found Severance dead in their bed. She told her brother that she knew family members "hated" Severance and believed one of them had killed him, so she took his body to the ranch, where she placed it in the pond.
Officers with the Texas Department of Public Safety's dive team recovered the body of a male from the pond on March 6, 2005. The body had been weighed down with several objects. Court documents show the objects were attached to various parts of the body with the use of various types of bindings.
The detective observed the body had defects which were consistent with injury, as well as noting that several of the defects were in locations on the body which were not consistent with a self-inflicted injury.
Because Wendi Davidson was a veterinarian operating in San Angelo, and the residence of Davidson and Severance was attached to her clinic, a warrant was sought to search the property for drugs used for anesthesia and euthanasia, including, but not limited to Ketamine.
A search warrant was obtained for the property where several items, including controlled substance log books were seized. (In July 2018, Wendi Davidson's father, Robert, filed a motion to have some of his personal items seized in the investigation to be returned to him.)
According to court documents, in October 2006, Wendi Davidson pleaded no contest to poisoning her husband, Michael Severance, with drugs intended for the euthanization of animals, transporting his body to the ranch, weighing it down and placing it in the stock pond on Sutton Road.
Parole board decision - Wendi is denied
On May 8, 2019, a Texas Department of Criminal Justice parole review board denied Davidson's request for parole.
In their decision, the board stated: "THE RECORD INDICATES THE INSTANT OFFENSE HAS ELEMENTS OF BRUTALITY, VIOLENCE, ASSAULTIVE BEHAVIOR, OR CONSCIOUS SELECTION OF VICTIM'S VULNERABILITY INDICATING A CONSCIOUS DISREGARD FOR THE LIVES, SAFETY, OR PROPERTY OF OTHERS, SUCH THAT THE OFFENDER POSES A CONTINUING THREAT TO PUBLIC SAFETY. "
Her next date for eligibility will be in 2024, according to state judicial records.
Civil court case
According to court documents, the custody of Wendi Davidson's two minor children was granted to her parents while she is incarcerated. A Third Court of Appeals document shows an appeal by Wendi to provide increased access to her children. The document shows Wendi received semi-annual written reports concerning the children and her being able to send "seasonably appropriate greeting cards" to the children to acknowledge certain holidays and their birthdays. She has continuously sought to expand her access, mostly without success, according to the document.
A local court found that "neither the circumstances of the child(ren), nor any of the conservators has materially and substantially changed since the prior order was entered" and that there was "no credible evidence" that increased contact with Davidson would be in the children's best interests.
Citing "it is beyond dispute that Davidson murdered (minor child's) father and subsequently attempted to cover up this egregious crime," among other things, increased contact with the children would be only "to their detriment and not to their benefit."
Wendi Davidson has continued to petition local courts regarding the interest of her children.
A bench warrant was issued for her to be remanded to the custody of the Tom Green County Sheriff's Office, and housed in the Tom Green County Jail, for her appearance in court Wednesday morning for a case regarding the children.