Christopher Davis (Florida, Murderer)

Christopher Gregory Davis was born around 1987 or 1988. Publicly available information concerning his childhood, education and early adult life is limited. By 2023, he was living in Cape Coral, Florida, and was in a relationship with Barry James Schmalbach. The two lived together at Schmalbach's condominium and had been romantically involved for several months.

By July 2023, their relationship had deteriorated. Schmalbach told friends that he wanted Davis out of his home and intended to end their relationship. On July 19, he sent a friend a message indicating that he no longer wanted to remain with Davis. That evening, the couple went together to Cruisers bar in Cape Coral, where witnesses observed tension between them.

Schmalbach was last seen alive on July 19, 2023, after leaving Cruisers with Davis. Prosecutors later argued that Davis killed him after they returned to the condominium. Schmalbach's precise cause of death could not be established because his remains have never been found.

Investigators nevertheless developed evidence indicating that Schmalbach had died inside or shortly after returning to his residence. Witness testimony, digital records and Davis's subsequent behaviour were used to establish a timeline in which Schmalbach abruptly disappeared while Davis immediately began taking control of his belongings and finances.

In the period after Schmalbach vanished, Davis used his credit and debit cards and impersonated him during a telephone call to his bank. He withdrew cash from ATMs and made numerous purchases using Schmalbach's accounts. Prosecutors argued that these transactions demonstrated that Davis knew Schmalbach was dead rather than voluntarily missing.

Because Schmalbach's body has never been located, investigators were unable to establish precisely how Davis killed him. The prosecution instead relied on the circumstances surrounding his disappearance and Davis's actions immediately afterward to demonstrate that a homicide had occurred.

Davis purchased a tarp, duct tape and air freshener and later bought a pickaxe and shovel with cash. He drove Schmalbach's Jeep and rented an Airbnb in a remote location using a false identity. Investigators found sand and dirt inside the rented property, while cadaver dogs subsequently alerted to the scent of human remains in Schmalbach's vehicle.

Afterward, Davis attempted to distance himself from evidence associated with Schmalbach. Prosecutors established that he discarded or attempted to dispose of items and continued using Schmalbach's financial resources. Despite extensive searches, investigators have never located Schmalbach's remains.

Schmalbach was not immediately reported missing, allowing several days to pass while Davis continued using his property and financial accounts. Once friends and authorities became concerned, Cape Coral Police began investigating his disappearance and increasingly focused on Davis as inconsistencies emerged.

Investigators reconstructed Davis's activities through surveillance footage, banking records, purchase histories and digital evidence. They established that he had impersonated Schmalbach during a call to his bank to confirm that a debit card remained active. Davis subsequently withdrew money, shopped at numerous businesses and paid for personal services using Schmalbach's cards.

Davis was eventually jailed on an unrelated out-of-state warrant while Cape Coral investigators continued building their case. In January 2024, approximately six months after Schmalbach disappeared, Cape Coral Police obtained a warrant charging Davis with second-degree murder. The decision to prosecute was significant because investigators still had not recovered Schmalbach's body.

Davis went on trial in Lee County in June 2025. Prosecutors faced the unusual challenge of proving a murder without a body, cause of death or traditional forensic examination of the victim. Instead, they presented approximately 40 witnesses and an extensive circumstantial case built around Schmalbach's abrupt disappearance and Davis's conduct immediately afterward.

Jurors heard evidence concerning Schmalbach's intention to end the relationship, the couple's final night together and Davis's subsequent purchases and financial activity. Surveillance footage and records documented his use of Schmalbach's cards and his acquisition of items prosecutors associated with disposing of a body. The state also presented evidence concerning the remote Airbnb, the tools Davis purchased and cadaver-dog alerts involving Schmalbach's vehicle.

Davis maintained his innocence. His defense emphasised the absence of Schmalbach's body and argued that prosecutors could not establish how, when or even definitively where he had died. The defense also challenged the prosecution's interpretation of Davis's financial activity and other circumstantial evidence.

On June 26, 2025, the jury deliberated for approximately two hours before finding Davis guilty of second-degree murder, tampering with physical evidence and eight counts involving fraudulent use or possession of a deceased person's identifying information. He was sentenced immediately after the verdict.

Davis received life imprisonment for second-degree murder, five years for tampering with physical evidence and five years for each of the eight identity-related convictions. Judge Nicholas Thompson ordered every sentence to run consecutively, resulting in a total sentence of life imprisonment plus 45 years.

The prosecution of Davis became notable as Cape Coral's first successful murder case in which the victim's body had never been recovered. Prosecutors Jennifer Justham and Andreas Gardiner relied on the accumulation of circumstantial evidence rather than any single piece of evidence establishing how Schmalbach died. His disappearance, Davis's immediate financial activity, surveillance footage, purchases, movements and efforts to dispose of evidence were combined into a timeline that convinced jurors a murder had occurred.

Schmalbach's remains were still missing when Davis was convicted and sentenced in 2025. His family has continued to seek their recovery so that he can receive a burial. The absence of his body prevented investigators from determining a cause of death, but it did not prevent prosecutors from establishing Davis's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

• State Attorney's Office, 20th Judicial Circuit of Florida
• Cape Coral Police Department
• Court TV
• Gulf Coast News / WBBH
• FOX 4 Southwest Florida
• Cape Coral Breeze