The maximum penalty short of death has been handed down to Evelyn Davis, the Filipino widow of British businessman Stephen Davis, for orchestrating his brutal murder in a Manila apartment in 2002. A Philippine court found her guilty beyond reasonable doubt of murder qualified by treachery, sentencing her to reclusion perpetua – a life term of up to 40 years with no chance of parole. The verdict, delivered in a tense courtroom packed with observers, marks the culmination of a two-and-a-half-year crusade by Stephen’s mother, Margaret, who refused to let her son’s killers escape justice.
Margaret Davis, 58, from Nottingham, England, spent tens of thousands of pounds and risked her own safety to bring Evelyn to trial. She had traveled to the Philippines within hours of learning of Stephen’s death and remained there for months, building a case from scratch. “If we got the right verdict, it’s going to be a huge sigh of relief,” she said moments before the judge read the decision.
Her relentless work uncovered the conspiracy that led to her son’s murder.
Stephen Davis, a 36-year-old computer technician, was shot four times in his rented apartment on July 18, 2002. He had come to the Philippines for business, a trip that ended in bloody tragedy. Police initially suspected a robbery, but Margaret suspected her daughter-in-law from the start.
“She didn’t seem upset at the funeral – not a single tear,” Margaret recalled. Evelyn, then 26, had been married to Stephen for five years and was the mother of his two children, Jessica, then three, and Joshua, then 18 months.
The prosecution’s case was built on evidence that Evelyn had plotted with her lover, a security guard named Arnold Adorai, to 𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁 Stephen for his money. Testimony from Evelyn’s own brother-in-law, Robin Butters, proved damning. Butters admitted he was the third man in the murder plot, driving the getaway car while Adorai and another security guard, later convicted, carried out the shooting.
“Evelyn told everyone Stephen was a millionaire and she would get it all when he was dead,” Butters told police.
The night of the murder, Evelyn claimed she was asleep at home. But a neighbor testified to seeing her return in the early hours. Investigators found that the killers had a key to the apartment, supporting the theory that Evelyn had provided it.
Defense lawyers argued that Evelyn was a victim of circumstance, manipulated by her lover and unaware of the plan. The judge, however, rejected that narrative, citing the strong web of circumstantial and testimonial evidence.
Margaret’s investigation had uncovered more than just the murder plot. It revealed that Evelyn had been having a prolonged 𝒶𝒻𝒻𝒶𝒾𝓇 with Adorai, using Stephen’s money to buy him gifts – including a motorcycle paid for with rent money. “She was very angry at Stephen all the time,” Margaret said.
“Money was going missing. She pawned her wedding ring to fund her boyfriend.” Stephen, unaware of the depth of the betrayal, had threatened divorce just weeks before his death.
The couple’s story began in 1997 when Stephen, working in Hong Kong, met Evelyn while visiting Angeles City, a notorious 𝒔𝒆𝒙 tourism hub. Evelyn was a 17-year-old bar girl earning about a pound a night. Stephen paid 500 pounds to the bar owner to free her and began a whirlwind romance.
“He said he wanted to rescue just one girl from that life,” Margaret remembered. Evelyn later told investigators she saw Stephen as her ticket out of poverty.
They married in a small ceremony in Hong Kong, and Margaret was initially charmed by her daughter-in-law. “She was quiet, polite, totally acceptable,” she said. But cracks soon appeared.
Stephen gave Evelyn a monthly allowance of a thousand pounds, but she spent lavishly on her own family, while lying in bed all day and leaving the children with maids. Margaret, visiting from England, noticed troubling signs: Evelyn pulling her shoulder away when Stephen tried to hold her hand, and constant text messaging.
Stephen’s mother wasn’t the only one who suspected an 𝒶𝒻𝒻𝒶𝒾𝓇. Evelyn’s sister Gina, hired as a nanny, confronted her. “She finally admitted it was true – she had a lover,” Gina said.
By 2002, the marriage was strained. Stephen had cut off Evelyn’s allowance after discovering she hadn’t paid for their daughter’s nursery school fees. “The last thing he said to me was, ‘She’s really messed up this time, Mom,’” Margaret recalled.
Days later, he was dead.
After the murder, Margaret fought not only for justice but for custody of her grandchildren. She took Jessica, then three, out of the Philippines under the pretext of a weekend visit. For Joshua, she paid 200 pounds to Evelyn’s parents, who agreed to hand him over in exchange for money for his education.
“I couldn’t leave that baby there,” Margaret said. “It was the hardest thing.” The children now live with Margaret and her partner Alan in England.
Evelyn’s trial began in early 2004. She maintained her innocence throughout, even after the guilty verdict. “I haven’t done anything wrong,” she told reporters.
“I had a perfect love. I have beautiful Jessica and Joshua in my life.” But the evidence was overwhelming: 14 prosecution witnesses, no defense witnesses, and a damning confession from her own relative.
The judge ruled the murder was planned with “treachery,” adding decades to her sentence.
In a final, emotional confrontation after the sentencing, Margaret faced Evelyn in a private room. “Your daughter cries for you. Your son cries for you,” Margaret said, tears streaming.
“And you don’t want them.” Evelyn insisted she did want her children, but Margaret scoffed. “Stephen was the best man in my life,” she said.
“You killed him and destroyed everything.” Evelyn continued to deny everything, even as Margaret left her with a letter and photos of the children.
Margaret’s letter, read later in a video, concluded: “You are no longer a daughter of mine. I will never forgive you.” The children will grow up knowing their mother was convicted of murdering their father.
“They’ll always know they have a very beautiful mommy,” Margaret said. “But they’ll also know the truth.” For now, Evelyn sits in Metro Manila’s Correctional Institution for Women, beginning a 40-year stretch that will likely see her into old age.
The case has captivated both the Philippines and Britain, highlighting the dangerous intersection of money, love, and cross-cultural relationships. Stephen’s friends say he was naive, blind to the evil around him. “He didn’t see evil,” said his friend Mike, who survived the attack.
“He thought he was the golden goose.” The tragic moral, as Margaret put it: “They killed the golden goose.” Evelyn, once the princess, is now a convicted murderer, and Margaret must raise her grandchildren with that painful legacy.
