DeFUNIAK SPRINGS — There has been no sign of John Hughes and Heidi Rhodes since they disappeared May 7, 2012, and authorities have come to believe they won’t be seen again, dead or alive.
They believe Barry Davis used his friendship with Hughes to secure an invitation into his home in south Walton County. Once inside, he first killed Hughes and then Rhodes, a Panama City Beach resident Hughes was dating, according to law enforcement.
When Davis goes on trial Monday in DeFuniak Springs for first-degree murder, prosecutor Bobby Elmore likely will tell jurors that Davis burned the bodies of his victims, and use testimony or previous statements from Davis’ ex-girlfriend to bolster his case.
Elmore declined to discuss specifics of his trial strategy last week, but 1st Judicial Circuit State Attorney Bill Eddins said at the time Davis was charged with murder in 2013 that he was confident his office would obtain a guilty verdict in a no-body trial.
If Davis is found guilty of the two murders, the state intends to seek the death penalty.
Tiffani Steward was identified as Davis’ girlfriend at a news conference held to announce his arrest. She provided statements that helped the Walton County Sheriff’s Office wrap up a long, arduous investigation, according to Sheriff Mike Adkinson.
After Davis was arrested on unrelated drug charges, investigators were able to convince Steward to tell them she’d seen Hughes and Rhodes murdered, Adkinson said at the news conference.
Adkinson said part of the difficulty with building a case against Davis was the reluctance of witnesses to speak against him.
“Truly, I can tell you, Davis struck fear in the hearts of these people,” he said.
Steward told authorities she and Davis had been invited to dinner at Hughes’ home May 7, 2012, and she knew Davis was plotting a robbery, according to an affidavit filed at the time of Davis’ arrest.
Steward said she and Rhodes went to run an errand and returned to find Hughes lying on the floor. She said she then watched Davis strangle Rhodes into unconsciousness.
Steward told officers she’d seen Davis tie his incapacitated victims with duct tape and submerge their heads in a bathtub.
Later, she said, Davis told her he had burned the bodies.