Christy Jack to Tell Story of Cullen Davis Case on 48 Hours

By Benson Varghese

Cullen Davis Case on 48 Hours

Veteran trial lawyer Christy Jack will take a trip down memory lane Saturday night when she reflects on one of the most infamous murder cases in Fort Worth history for CBS’s 48 Hours. Jack will chronicle the case of Cullen Davis, one of the richest men in America ever charged with murder.

Forty years have passed since a man in black invaded the Davis mansion and gunned down four people, wounding two and killing two, including a child. The saga captivated the country in the 1970s and spawned four criminal trials, two acquittals, numerous books and a TV miniseries starring Heather Locklear.

“This is a case that involves wealth, that involves sex, that involves vengeance and that involves murder,” Jack said in the 48 Hours interview. “It’s a notorious case. It’s a case that will never die.”

It’s also a case in which no one has ever been held accountable.

Davis’ Net Worth Tied to Failed Prosecutions

Davis, then worth an estimated $500 million, hired Richard “Racehorse” Haynes, a brash, silver-tongued lawyer from Houston to defend him. He represented Davis in the Mansion murders and later in a twisted murder-for-hire plot. Davis beat the rap – twice. It was the first time a defendant had more money than the state. (Haynes died on April 28 after a long and storied career.)

Christy Jack Tapped to Tell the Cullen Davis Story

Jack, a criminal defense attorney at the law firm of Varghese Summersett, is no stranger to high-profile criminal cases. Before entering private practice, she prosecuted some of Fort Worth’s most notable cases during her 20-plus years with the Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office.

A Fort Worth native and seasoned trial attorney, Jack was approached last year by 48 Hours to see if she would be interested in participating in an episode revisiting the Cullen Davis saga, serving as both narrator and legal analyst.

The producers and crew spent an evening in March at Varghese Summersett meticulously setting up and shooting Jack’s interview. “Murder in the Mansion” is produced by Chuck Stevenson and Gail Abbott Zimmerman. Lucy Scott and Claire St. Amant are the development producers. Gary Winter, Michelle Harris, Michael McHugh and George Baluzy are the editors. Judy Tygard is the senior producer. Susan Zirinsky is the senior executive producer.

The episode will air at 9 p.m. central on CBS. Watch a sneak peak of the Cullen Davis Case on 48 Hours here:

\