OSAGE CITY — Osage County Sheriff Laurie Dunn has identified the man accused of shooting and stabbing an Osage County woman Elbert “Big Woody” Davis, Jr., 61, Topeka. Davis was killed when he crashed into a bridge on U.S. 75 south of Topeka during a high-speed chase with police. The Topeka Capital-Journal reported Davis was a fixture in Topeka’s jazz and blues music scene. Dunn said Davis was the only suspect in the attack on 41-year-old Stephanie Watson, the Osage County economic development director, in her rural Osage County home at 1331 W. 197th St. Watson was listed in serious condition at a Topeka hospital for a gun-shot wound to the head and several stab wounds in her upper torso. Dunn said that Watson knew Davis. An Osage County deputy had pulled Davis over and let him go before an alert was broadcast that he was a suspect in the attack on Watson. When the deputy tried to stop Davis again, he took off, leading officers on a chase at speeds of more than 90 miles an hour. The Kansas Highway Patrol is investigating the crash.
Tuesday, Nov. 30, 3:30 p.m.; updated Wednesday, Nov. 30, 7:30 a.m.
