Ohio death row inmate indicted for 1990 Charlotte County murder

The State Attorney’s Office announced on Wednesday that a grand jury had indicted a man on death row in Ohio for first-degree murder in Charlotte County.

Roland T. Davis Sr. was indicted for the 1990 murder of 42-year-old Sharon Gill. Davis was identified as the suspect in the murder by the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office in 2020, thanks to new developments in DNA testing.

The State Attorney’s Office says Gill was stabbed 39 times in her Charlotte County home on March 21, 1990. They say Davis was hired by Gill to do some landscaping before she was killed.

Krista Gill is Sharon’s daughter, she’s waited 32 years for answers and closure in her mother’s murder investigation. She told WINK News she’s overwhelmed with gratitude and relief that there may finally be answers as to who is responsible for killing her mother.

“I know she’s at peace,” Krista said. “I know she’s healthy and whole, so that brings great peace to me because I do believe in heaven. So, I know she’s in heaven and I know my dad is with her.”

“I just had this sense that we were going to find out who killed my mom. And I’ve just held onto that feeling,” Krista said. “Maybe it was my parents guiding me, giving me that sense of peace or comfort, I don’t know. But I just really sensed that they were going to be able to solve it. And they have.”

“She always wanted to make people feel special, very outgoing, friendly. They would do anything for people,” Krista said. “That’s just the type of people they were. So, the thoughts of somebody coming into our home and hurting my mom, it’s just… it’s gut-wrenching.”

“I want to thank Ms. Gill’s daughter for her patience and understanding, along with the victim’s other family and friends, as the necessary work was completed to put together the evidence. I hope this indictment brings you all some sense of peace and some closure,” said State Attorney Amira Fox.

Davis is currently on death row in Ohio for the murder of an 86-year-old woman in 2000. The state attorney’s office is now working to extradite Roland Davis from Ohio back to Florida where he will face a first-degree murder charge. Krista, now living in Canada, said she will be returning to Florida in case there is a trial.

Investigators are also looking into whether Davis is connected to other unsolved murders or missing persons cases from the 1980s and 1990s.