When Michael Severance went missing in January 2005, his wife suggested to Air Force security personnel that he might have left before a deployment. His family told investigators that leaving the service like that would have been out of character. Michael was stationed at Dyess Air Force Base in Abilene. The Air Force wanted to find one of its airmen. San Angelo police had a missing-person report and a report of money missing from Wendi Mae Davidson’s veterinary clinic. [1]
Investigators learned that Davidson kept a horse at a ranch owned by Terrell Sheen, who also owned the clinic building. They searched around the clinic in places Michael could have reached on foot. In late February, the Air Force got written authorization from a regional commander to put a tracking device on Davidson’s car. For two days it recorded where the vehicle went. One trip gave investigators a specific ranch to ask Sheen about. [1]
Billy Hathorn · Image source · CC BY 3.0 · Geographic context; not authentic crime evidence. The building or landscape is public geographic context; no event is assigned to it.
The first look at the ranch
Sheen told agents that both Davidson and Michael had access to the property. He gave them permission to search and showed them around on March 3. They saw the buildings and ponds. They didn’t find Michael that day. [1]
Two days later, investigators asked Davidson about the ponds. Afterward she went to the ranch and was turned away while officers secured it. Her brother called police and told them Michael might be in a pond. At a meeting with her family, officers said they heard Davidson say she had moved the body. She said she believed one of her parents had killed him. The statement described by officers supplied no proof of that accusation. [1]
Billy Hathorn · Image source · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Geographic context; not authentic crime evidence. The building or landscape is public geographic context; no event is assigned to it.
The tip that led to the pond
Investigators searched the pond with Sheen’s permission and recovered Michael’s body. ABC later reported that toxicology found animal tranquilizers. The veterinary clinic gave investigators a place to ask about access to the drugs. [1] [3]
Balon Greyjoy · Image source · CC0 · Geographic context; not authentic crime evidence. The building or landscape is public geographic context; no event is assigned to it.
What the Air Force was doing there
Davidson asked the trial court to exclude evidence obtained through the tracker. Her lawyers argued that the Air Force had been acting for local police and that the installation required different authorization. The judge refused to suppress the evidence. In 2006 Davidson pleaded no contest to murder and two counts of tampering with physical evidence. She received twenty-five years for murder, with concurrent ten-year terms on the other counts. [1] [2]
The Texas Third Court of Appeals affirmed in 2008. It found that the Air Force had its own reason to investigate and had followed the applicable military procedures. Davidson later continued to deny killing Michael. The tracker could place a car at a ranch. It took permission to search and a tip about a particular pond to find the man the Air Force had been looking for since January. [1] [3]
Case brief
San Angelo and Abilene, Texas · 2005
- Recorded outcome
- Wendi Mae Davidson pleaded no contest to murder and two tampering counts. The 25-year murder judgment and concurrent terms were affirmed in 2008.
Key moments
People in this case
- Michael Severance and Wendi Mae Davidson
Severance was the victim. Davidson pleaded no contest to murder.
Photo at source · ABC News · interview and case photographs
Look closer · 9 visuals
Inside the evidence.
Open a visual to explore what it contributed to the case—and the limits of what it shows. Photographs, historical reproductions and original illustrations are individually labeled. Open the notes for each image’s source, credit, and limitations; setting photographs do not depict crime scenes.
A missing airman and two inquiries
Original editorial illustration — not an actual evidence photograph or exhibit.
Read the evidence notes
The two agencies had separate reasons to investigate.
Sharing information did not erase the distinct military purpose found by the court.
Two days of tracking
Original editorial illustration — not an actual evidence photograph or exhibit.
Read the evidence notes
The device narrowed the location inquiry.
It supplied vehicle movements, without identifying a crime or reconstructing an entire route.
Consent and the ranch visit
Original editorial illustration — not an actual evidence photograph or exhibit.
Read the evidence notes
Sheen permitted investigators to search.
The initial ranch tour did not locate Michael.
The recovery sequence
Original editorial illustration — not an actual evidence photograph or exhibit.
Read the evidence notes
The physical recovery confirmed where Michael was found.
It did not show who killed him.
What the statement addressed
Original editorial illustration — not an actual evidence photograph or exhibit.
Read the evidence notes
Officers described an admission to moving Michael’s body.
It is not an admission to the murder.
What the appeal reviewed
Original editorial illustration — not an actual evidence photograph or exhibit.
Read the evidence notes
The appeal reviewed a suppression ruling on this record.
The 2008 decision does not establish a general rule for modern tracking.
Concho River in San Angelo
Context photograph — not an actual crime exhibit. The building or landscape is public geographic context; no event is assigned to it.
Read the evidence notes
Concho River in San Angelo. Geographic context photograph; not a crime-scene photograph or an original evidence exhibit. The building or landscape is public geographic context; no event is assigned to it. This river is separate from the ranch pond.
Geographic context; not authentic crime evidence. The building or landscape is public geographic context; no event is assigned to it. The source and reuse terms are linked below.
Billy Hathorn · Image source · CC BY 3.0
Tom Green County Courthouse in San Angelo
Context photograph — not an actual crime exhibit. The building or landscape is public geographic context; no event is assigned to it.
Read the evidence notes
Tom Green County Courthouse in San Angelo. Geographic context photograph; not a crime-scene photograph or an original evidence exhibit. The building or landscape is public geographic context; no event is assigned to it.
Geographic context; not authentic crime evidence. The building or landscape is public geographic context; no event is assigned to it. The source and reuse terms are linked below.
Billy Hathorn · Image source · CC BY-SA 3.0
An aircraft displayed at the 2018 Dyess Air Force Base air show
Context photograph — not an actual crime exhibit. The building or landscape is public geographic context; no event is assigned to it.
Read the evidence notes
An aircraft displayed at the 2018 Dyess Air Force Base air show. Geographic context photograph; not a crime-scene photograph or an original evidence exhibit. The building or landscape is public geographic context; no event is assigned to it.
Geographic context; not authentic crime evidence. The building or landscape is public geographic context; no event is assigned to it. The source and reuse terms are linked below.
Balon Greyjoy · Image source · CC0
★ Key evidence used in a conviction · ✓ Exclusion or reversal · ◇ Disputed evidence · ⊘ Excluded at retrial · ◆ Identity / investigative finding, not a conviction. A symbol does not mean one item proved the whole case.
Follow the locations
Put the story on the map.
Follow the dated entries, then select an event to find its regional setting. Shared-location pins open a group of events. Evidence symbols identify important findings and their limitations.
Open the map in its own window ↗Sources & further reading
- Davidson v. State · Texas Third Court of AppealsAir Force inquiry, tracking, search, suppression hearing, plea and affirmance.
- dvm360 · Davidson plea and sentenceContemporary reporting on the no-contest resolution.
- ABC News · Davidson interview and case historyLater denial and reporting on toxicology.
Editorial review: 2026-11-12 · 466 words