Authorities say Joshua Davis picked up Savannah Smith in a Woonsocket park, drove off and killed her. Her body was found in Cranston yesterday.

07:20 PM EDT on Tuesday, May 9, 2006

BY CYNTHIA NEEDHAM and AMANDA MILKOVITS
Journal Staff Writers

An 8-year-old Woonsocket girl who thought she was going for ice cream with her neighbor Sunday afternoon was found dead in a wooded area of Cranston 12 hours later.

Photo courtesy of Smith family

Second-grader Savannah Smith, of Woonsocket, "trusted the world,'' her parents said.

The neighbor, Joshua Davis, 20, of 564 Coe St., Woonsocket, was charged yesterday with the murder of Savannah Smith, a blond-haired Globe Park Elementary School second grader who lived across the street with her father.

Prosecutors say Davis picked up Savannah at a park in her neighborhood and took her to Cranston where he killed her. At his arraignment yesterday, he was ordered held at the Adult Correctional Institutions after prosecutors promised "the evidence at the bail hearing will be overwhelming."

No new information on her death was forthcoming today. Authorities in Cranston, Woonsocket and at the attorney general's office refused to comment today on how she died and the case in general.

Yesterday, the child's parents struggled to understand how such a tragedy could strike their little girl "who trusted the world."

Sunday afternoon at the end of Coe Street, the sun was shining and neighbors were outside soaking up the nice weather. David Smith, Savannah's father, was getting ready for a family barbecue while two of his three daughters, Savannah and Danielle, 5, and their cousin Brianna played in the street, a freedom that comes with living on a quiet, dead-end road.

Across the street, Davis was washing his red convertible. Davis, his girlfriend, Audrey, and their baby, had moved into the second-story apartment a few months ago, and the two families had become friends.

Audrey was always happy to help out with the girls when Smith got in a pinch; his daughters, especially Savannah, loved playing with the baby. David and his wife, Lisa Marie Smith, are separated, and he has custody of their children.

So when Savannah and her sister asked if they could help Davis wash the convertible, Smith said he thought nothing of it. But when they came inside and asked if they could go with Davis for ice cream, Smith said he hesitated. The car wasn't registered, he knew, and he'd seen Davis drinking "a little," earlier that afternoon. He said no.

Disappointed, the girls asked if they could go to the playground at Globe Park, about 100 yards from their house. Their father agreed.

That was at 3 p.m. About 30 minutes later, Brianna and Danielle returned. "They said they saw Savannah get in the car with [Davis] and leave, waving," Smith recalled yesterday as he stood on his front walk.

Journal photo / Bill Murphy

Joshua Davis, 20, is arraigned in District Court, Providence, in the killing of Savannah Smith, 8, his neighbor on Coe Street in Woonsocket.

Upset, Smith made an unsuccessful trip to a nearby store to find them. Returning to the neighborhood, he asked Audrey to call Davis on the cell phone. Smith said he could hear Davis telling his girlfriend that he was in Warwick and hadn't seen Savannah since he "dropped her off at the park."

Somewhere between 5 or 5:30 p.m., Smith said, he called Woonsocket police to report his daughter missing. Several cruisers arrived and officers -- along with concerned neighbors -- began looking for Savannah in nearby woods.

At 8 p.m., Smith said, Davis returned home and the police, who were still in the neighborhood, asked him about Savannah. Again he relayed the story that he'd left her in the park. As the officers were talking, Smith said, Davis "jumped in his car and tried to get away." The police, stopped Davis' car, handcuffed him and drove off.

Throughout yesterday, Woonsocket police refused to say anything about the case.

However, state police Maj. Steven O'Donnell says Woonsocket police called the state police at 10:40 p.m. Sunday, seeking help in finding a "possible runaway." He said the state police sent search dogs to the neighborhood.

At 2:20 a.m. yesterday, state police heard from Cranston police, who asked for search dogs to help look for a body in a wooded area in their city. At 4:05 a.m., "our troopers and the dogs found the body," O'Donnell said.

Authorities found Savannah's body in a section of woods off Parkview Boulevard, a small street of modest ranch homes off Park Avenue. Yesterday afternoon, Davis was led barefoot into Judge Michael Higgins' courtroom in District Court, Providence. Blue jail scrubs hung on his lanky frame. A small crowd of onlookers suddenly quieted, and even court employees leaned forward to stare. A few women in the benches began to cry silently. He wore a goatee; his red hair was close-cropped, revealing a dark tattoo on the right side of his neck.

Davis answered the judge's questions about his date of birth and address, and said he couldn't afford an attorney.

Davis was held for a May 22 bail hearing. The case will be presented to a grand jury.

Later yesterday, the attorney general's spokesman, Michael J. Healey, declined to talk about possible cause of death, saying investigators were waiting for a medical examiner's report. He also refused to say whether there will be additional charges.

Woonsocket Police Chief Michael L.A. Houle did not return calls left on his cell phone or office phone. Neither did Cranston Chief Stephen McGrath.

Meanwhile, Savannah's mother stood outside her husband's house yesterday, wondering why the police did not activate the Amber Alert system. "I don't understand it. I felt so helpless. All I could do was stand by the phone as he murdered my baby," she said.

The Amber Alert system broadcasts details about abductions through the media and on highway signs.

Major O'Donnell said the state police can only issue an Amber Alert if local police let them know that a child has been abducted. In this case, O'Donnell said, the Woonsocket police only told the state police that they believed Savannah was missing and may have run away. Woonsocket police issued a news release late yesterday saying the Amber Alert system was not deemed necessary.

Journal photo / Bill Murphy

Parents David and Lisa Marie Smith speak with the media about the killing of their 8-year-old daughter, Savannah.

Lisa Marie Smith clutched a picture of Savannah, and started to cry as she looked at her daughter's gap-toothed smile. The last time she saw Savannah, she said, was when her girls came over "for a sleepover" at her house Saturday night. After a bubble bath, Savannah said she wanted to cuddle with her mom.

Lisa Marie took her young daughter in her arms and stroked her blonde hair. Together they fell asleep.

With reports from Staff Writer Tom Mooney.

cneedham@projo.com/ (401) 277-7374

amilkovi@projo.com/ (401) 277-7213