VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. -- More than a decade after they last saw him, friends, classmates and teachers of Quincy Davis gathered at Virginia Beach Middle School Tuesday night to honor Davis with a vigil. Davis' remains were discovered in a plastic bag in the trunk of his mother's car earlier this month.
"I guess everyone just assumed he abruptly moved," former classmate Michele Ridgeway told WTKR. "I had been looking for him for years on social media. I just assumed he didn’t participate in Facebook."
Tuesday would have been Davis’ 25th birthday. His friends sang "Happy Birthday" and walked the track in his honor. Davis, they said, excelled at running the mile and was a class clown.
"Today’s probably the first time in a while that anyone’s come together and celebrated Quincy Davis," vigil organizer Meghan Fontenot said.
The friends who gathered Tuesday said they had no idea what happened to Quincy following the seventh grade. Virginia State Police are working to put together a timeline of Quincy's life and death.
The discovery of his remains
His remains were found June 6, 2015, in the trunk of a car driven by his mother Tonya Slaton. She was stopped by police in Hampton, for having expired tags.
A subsequent inquiry revealed the car “was not registered in Virginia and the license plates on the vehicle were not found on file with the Department of Motor Vehicles,” according to the affidavit.
The trooper began impounding the vehicle and while taking inventory, discovered a black trash bag in the trunk, according to the court papers. There was a strong odor of rotting flesh permeating from the bag, the paperwork indicated. The body was double-bagged and sealed with duct tape.
Slaton allegedly threw some clothes on top of the bag, and told the trooper the bag contained just clothes. The trooper also noticed a large white stain located on the floorboard behind the driver’s seat.
“When questioned, [she] explained that she spilled some bleach,” according to the affidavit.
Slaton was charged with concealment of a dead body and is being held at the City of Hampton Jail without bond.
State police said that further charges against Slaton are pending.
Bernice House said Slaton was once married to her son. The two never had children together, but she said her son adored Quincy.
The woman recalled their relationship starting out on a rocky note. She said when the two first dated, she was concerned by a violent incident that happened. House said Slaton allegedly smashed all the windows on her son’s Ford Mustang and slashed all of his tires.
House said she then advised her son against continuing the relationship. She said not long after that, her son called her to inform her that he and Slaton had gotten married.
As the months passed, House said Slaton would accompany her son to Georgia where House lived. She said she last saw Slaton and Quincy in 2002, at a family reunion in Georgia.
House said that the Mustang where Quincy’s remains were found was listed in her son’s name. That was because after the couple divorced, Slaton allegedly refused to give the car back, according to House.
“I know that was his Mustang because it had been hidden. They were looking for his Mustang during the divorce, but I told him to let it go. He found out what was going on when police from Virginia contacted him. They contacted him because the car was in his name. That’s probably why she couldn’t get a tag because the car wasn’t in her name,” House added.
The suspect’s former mother in law said she was completely shocked that Slaton would be in this situation. She said whenever Slaton came to Georgia with Quincy she was always very respectful. She said Slaton seemed to be quite close with her son.
“He was very smart and very mannerable. Why? What could that boy have possibly done for this to happen to him? Why?” House asked.
She also recalled a bizarre incident early on with Slaton that stood out. House said when Slaton married her son, she only told him about Quincy and never admitted to him that she also had another biological child.
Virginia State Police last week confirmed that Slaton also has an adult son. They gave no details, however on that child’s whereabouts.
House said during a visit, Slaton’s son Quincy became upset. When she asked him what was wrong, she said the boy mentioned that he missed his brother.
House said that was news to her and her son who was married to Slaton at the time. She said she never understood why Slaton denied having another son.
Court documents obtained by WTVR CBS 6 News recently also showed Slaton classified herself as single with no family and no kids. That information was revealed on a bail requirement form after her June 6 arrest for concealing a dead body.
House said her entire family was now devastated, even her son who has since remarried.
“He’s hurt, but he knows the Lord. I told him it is in God’s hands right now because he was crazy about that child. It is senseless. It has done something to my family to learn this. They just can’t believe it happened to Quincy,” House added.
