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Inset: Travis Davison (Shelby County Sheriff’s Office). Background: The Camaro that Travis Davison allegedly set on fire with his wife inside (WREG/YouTube).
A man from Tennessee is facing charges of attempted murder after allegedly instructing an acquaintance to set his wife’s Chevrolet Camaro on fire while she was inside. According to police, he urged, “light that b— up!” while coaching and cheering the accomplice over the phone.
Travis Davison, aged 44 and hailing from Memphis, stands accused of the attempted murder of his wife on July 30, as per an arrest affidavit accessed by Law&Crime, which details the incident occurring in the 800 block of South Second Street.
Authorities claim he, along with his extramarital partner, Jessica Rios, aged 39, communicated with the alleged arsonist—whose identity remains unknown—via phone. They reportedly “poured gasoline” on the Camaro and ignited it on the evening in question.
Cellphone footage obtained by local CBS affiliate WREG displayed the car engulfed in flames, though the wife escaped without injuries. A neighbor, who preferred to stay anonymous, captured the event and relayed details to the outlet, mentioning that both she and her daughter observed the aftermath.
“My daughter and I got out of our car, and she said, ‘someone call 911,'” the woman recounted. “The police arrived before the fire department, and I overheard her talking about her husband.”
According to the affidavit, Davison was “extremely loud” as he allegedly directed his accomplice to his wife’s vehicle, where she was sitting. Rios could also allegedly be heard by the victim, who spoke to cops afterward, giving out instructions as well.
“The silver Camaro,” Rios allegedly said, with it being the “only silver Camaro on the street,” according to the affidavit. The accomplice allegedly pulled up that night in an SUV with several other individuals who were in a BMW and a “gold sedan,” per cops.
“Under the directions from the male and female voices from the BMW, the male that exited the silver SUV walked to [the wife’s] vehicle and poured gasoline on her Camaro from the front to the back, while [the wife] was sitting inside,” the affidavit says. The wife “realized her vehicle was being set on fire” and “crawled out the passenger window.” Police say if she had not quickly gotten out of the car, she could have easily been killed.
Police say that the person who poured the gasoline and set the wife’s car ablaze made eye contact with her before fleeing with the others. The wife told cops that it appeared the people were all communicating through Bluetooth phone calls through their vehicles’ stereo systems.
“The occupants … all made verbal acknowledgement of seeing [the wife] as they announced they saw [her],” the affidavit says. “All parties could have stopped the offense to preserve [the wife’s] life. Instead, the actions continued and the person then lit the vehicle on fire as [the wife] was crawling out.”
The wife told cops that she and Davison had been married for nearly six years before the attack occurred. He has been charged with attempted second-degree murder and attempted reckless endangerment with a deadly weapon. Rios is also charged with attempted murder.