Easter Weekend 1978 - Madison, WI
Gerald Davies worked as a shipping clerk at UW-Madison. On the Monday following Easter weekend
he was found dead in the bathtub in his apartment at 2305 S. Park St.
Davies was on his back in the tub full of water, his legs spread over the sides of the tub. There
were no obvious injuries, and an autopsy initially failed to reveal a cause of death.
State Crime Laboratory analyst Kenneth Kempfert examined Davies' blood for every possible poison
that he could think of, finally, a cyanide test showed more than 2.5 times the lethal level
in his body.
Barbara Hoffman was tried for his murder along with the murder of
Harry Berge who also died of cyanide
poisoning. She was convicted of murdering Berge, but acquitted of murdering Davies.
Barbara Hoffman (28)
Gerald Davies (31)
Harry Berge (52)
