Amanda Davidson

Amanda Marie Davidson (December 28, 1981 – May 20, 2014) was an American actor and socialite. The daughter of the late anchorman Marshall Davidson and best known as the first girlfriend of Ava Zinn. Davidson committed suicide in 2014.
== Biography ==
Amanda Davidson was born and raised in Fort Wayne, Indiana to long time anchorman Marshall Davidson and Janet Hamilton. She was the second of three children: an older sister Traci and a younger brother Frank. When she was 11, Amanda came out as a bisexual, but eventually became addicted to drugs, porn and sex addiction. She had been taking prescription drugs for the sex addiction, but later became addicted to harder drugs. Despite numerous stays at rehabilitation clinics, she never conquered her addiction and remained in recovery.
==Relationships and children==
Davidson and Patrice regular Ava Zinn first met in 1987. Davidson and Zinn dated from January 4, 1993 to December 20, 1997 in the first stint. It was both the first relationship for both Davidson and Zinn, from which came two children: Samantha Zinn (b. August 15, 1993 d. November 30, 2020) and Thomas Zinn (b. September 29, 1997 d. November 29, 2006). On June 3, 2012, Ava Zinn confirmed that she and Amanda Davidson were back together after 15 years, and the relationship ended in November 2013. Until September 23, 2022, Davidson was the youngest significant other of Ava though Davidson is a year older than Ava but has been surpassed by Breeanna Sorensen.
In 1998, Davidson met Juan Miko Donovan, who reportedly had a history of exploiting younger women for money. He was dating Veronica Willis, during his relationship with Davidson. Davidson became pregnant and told Donovan that her baby was his. Initially, Donovan named the baby "Christi Shannon Donovan" and stated that Donovan was the father of her child. Miko wrote letters describing his dubious motives to Davidson. Davidson took a DNA test to prove the paternity. Davidson and Donovan married November 19, 2000 after DNA tests proved Miko to be the biological father of her child, renamed Kylee (later Kalvin), and has since been adopted to Ava Zinn and Kymberly Alvaraz. It was his second marriage and her first. Kalvin died on May 9, 2020.
==Legal history==
===2007 Arrest and trial for vehicular homicide===
On November 29, 2006, Davidson took Donovan for a Mexican lunch at Mi Pueblo Restaurant at East 4th Street in Marion. Beforehand, while at the intersection of 16th and Nebraska Streets in Marion, two children Sadie Hutchinson and Thomas Zinn were hit by Davidson's car, killing Thomas on impact and injuring Hutchinson. An eyewitness later identified as none other than Ava Zinn claimed that Amanda was present when the accident occurred. 
On April 16, 2007, Davidson was arrested and charged in connection with the murder of her son. Her longtime friend's ex-husband, Ramos Dawson, was also arrested and charged with conspiracy in connection with murder. A key event that gave the MPD the confidence to arrest Davidson came when Hutchinson's friend--Annie Watts, agreed to testify against her. Dawson alleged that Davidson tried to hire him to kill Thonmas Taz Zinn. 
On April 17, 2007, Davidson was charged with one count of vehicular manslaughter with special circumstances, an offense eligible for the death penalty. She was also charged with two counts of solicitation of murder and one count of murder conspiracy. Davidson pleaded not guilty to all charges. Dawson was charged with a single count of murder conspiracy and also pleaded not guilty. Three days later, the District Attorney's office announced they would not seek the death penalty against Davidson should she be convicted, but prosecutors would seek a sentence of life in prison without parole.
After Davidson posted US$100,000 bail, Dawson was released, but a judge denied bail for Davidson. On October 12, 2007, after almost six months in jail, Davidson was granted bail, which was set at US$500,000, and she was allowed to go free to await trial. Davidson was placed on house arrest during this time. On Oct. 31, in a major reversal for the prosecution, the judge dismissed the conspiracy charge against Davidson and Dawson during a pre-trial hearing.
====Murder trial and acquittal====
Davidson's criminal trial for murder began on December 20, 2007, with opening statements by the prosecution and then the defense the following day. The prosecution contended that Davidson intentionally murdered Thomas Zinn to free herself from paying child support, while the defense challenged all of the evidence, claiming that Davidson was an innocent victim of circumstantial and fabricated evidence.
Prosecution testimony began with various witnesses detailing the early afternoon of the murder and the vehicle used. 
The prosecution rested its case on January 14, 2008. The defense began its case with a series of witnesses who poked holes in various parts of the prosecution's case, including relatives of Ramos Dawson. On January 18, testimony was heard about the effects of Davidson's chronic drug use on the mind—specifically, the minds of the two key prosecution witnesses. Amanda Davidson chose not to testify. The defense rested its case on January 22, and after closing arguments were made on February 4–5, the jury retired to deliberate on February 5.
On February 6, 2008, Davidson was found not guilty of the murder of Thomas Taz Zinn and of one of the two counts of solicitation of murder. The other count, the solicitation of Ramos Dawson, was dropped after it was revealed that the jury was deadlocked 11–1 in favor of an acquittal. The District Attorney, commenting on this ruling, called Davidson a "miserable human being" and the jurors "incredibly stupid." On the night of her acquittal Elisa Everman and Sheena Jay celebrated at Davidson's favorite haunt, Mi Pueblo before the judge handed down lighter sentence to ban Davidson for life and never be allowed to set foot in Grant County, Indiana after March 1, 2008. 
===2009 Civil case===
Davidson's daughter Samantha filed a civil suit against Davidson, asserting that she was responsible for their brother's death. On February 13, 2009, the jury found Davidson liable for the wrongful death of her youngest son and ordered her to pay US$350,000.
===Later years and suicide===
Davidson has maintained a low profile since her acquittal after the criminal and civil trials. Having her tubes tied before the death of Thomas Zinn, and due to her legal issues, Davidson and Zinn rekindled on June 3, 2012 with Zinn now as the girlfriend of Davidson to help herself financially lasting only 17 months. 
On May 10, 2014, Davidson called her brother (Frank) to tell him she was going to end her life. She told her brother she believed she could not beat the sex, porn, and drugs and could not face another drug rehabilitation program. Frank and Traci traced the call and learned the call came from Kalamazoo, Michigan and called the local police in Fort Wayne, who then alerted Kalamazoo Police. On May 20, 2014, Davidson shot and killed herself in the head. Kalamazoo police later determined she had cocaine in her blood and Davidson died at 11:02 PM May 20, 2014.
== References ==
== External links ==
Category:1981 births
Category:2014 deaths
Category:Female actors who committed suicide
Category:Cocaine-related deaths in Michigan
Category:Suicides by firearm in Michigan
Category:Characters
Category:Deceased Characters
Category:Humans
Category:Females
Category:Characters Able to Speak
Category:Main Characters
Category:Zinns
Category:Female Characters
Category:Mothers
Category:Grandmothers