What Happened to Carter Davis? Inside His Death After Slater Nalley’s ‘American Idol’ Audition Tribute
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Slater Nalley will return to the American Idol stage for Hollywood Week after his moving audition earlier this season. During his audition, he played an original song dedicated to his teacher’s son, Carter Davis, who had died. The tribute moved the judges and viewers alike.
Davis was just 17 years old when he died in a random attack outside of Atlanta, Georgia. The teenager and Natalie Henderson were fatally shot behind a Publix supermarket on August 1, 2016, according to CBS News. Their bodies were discovered by a delivery driver around 6 a.m.
Both teens were killed by single gunshot wounds to the head and their deaths were investigated as homicides. Police confirmed that the high school students were friends and that two vehicles associated with them were in the supermarket’s parking lot, indicating that they drove there themselves.
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One day after Davis and Henderson’s deaths, 20-year-old Jeffrey A. Hazelwood was charged with their murders, police confirmed to CBS News. He was arrested after being spotted at a gas station near the Publix.
In May 2017, Hazelwood was sentenced to life in prison without parole, according to ABC News. He pleaded guilty, but mentally ill, to the murder charges against him. A judge ruled that he was competent to stand trial.
The official charges against Hazelwood were: 2 counts of malice murder, 3 counts of felony murder, 2 counts of aggravated assault, 1 count of kidnapping, 1 count of aggravated sexual battery, 1 count of finance credit card theft, 1 count of identity fraud, 2 counts of possession of a firearm during a felony, and 1 count of theft by taking.
In Davis’ obituary, it was revealed that he was a high school senior at River Ridge High School who loved playing lacrosse. He was laid to rest on August 4, 2016. In his eulogy, Rev. Dr. James Hammer said, “Although his life was cut short, everyone in his life will remember how he loved the Lord, loved everyone, and told them often. He lived life to the fullest.”
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