The Channel Wire

July 25, 2008

Edward Davidson, convicted "spam king," walked away from a minimum security prison in Florence, Colo. on Sunday. Thursday, four days after his jailbreak, Davidson was found dead at the grisly scene of an apparent murder-suicide outside of Aurora, Colo.

Davidson was found dead of what police say was a self-inflicted gunshot wound alongside the body of Amy Lee Ann Hill, 29 years old and the mother of his two children, and the couple's 3-year old daughter. Davidson and Hill's 7-month old son was spared from the carnage.

A teenage girl was taken to a local hospital after being shot in the neck while trying to escape the scene, the Denver Post reported. The teenager was taken to the University Of Colorado Hospital to be treated for her wounds.

After escaping the correctional institution, Davidson met Hill and forced her to drive him to the Denver area. According to a police spokesman, Davidson slapped Hill twice on the drive back to Florence. Davidson then took the SUV found at the scene and drove to Lakeland before disappearing.

On Thursday, Bob Cambron, a neighbor who lives about a mile-and-a-half away from the crime scene, heard gunshots on the wind followed by "intense screaming." Cambron went to investigate the scene without getting too close for "fear of being the next victim." By the time police arrive at the scene, Davidson, Hill and their child were already dead.

"What a nightmare, and such a coward," said U.S. Attorney Troy Eid in an e-mailed statement. "Davidson imposed the 'death penalty' on family members for his own crime."

Davidson was sentenced in April to 21 months in a minimum security federal prison camp for sending hundreds of thousands of unsolicited commercial spam messages for his Colorado-based business Power Promoters. Davidson's spamming services were provided on behalf of companies promoting watches, perfume and other products. Between 2005 and 2006, Davidson also sent spam messages that promoted "penny stocks" on the public market with false headers, which concealed the sender from the recipients.

Davidson conducted his spamming activities from his personal residence in Bennett, Colo., where he used a network of computers and servers to facilitate his business.