Savannah man who murdered wife of deployed soldier sentenced to nearly 60 years in prison

 Woman was shot to death in Fort Stewart apartment

SAVANNAH, GA:  A Savannah man who admitted killing the wife of a deployed U.S. Army soldier on post at Fort Stewart has been sentenced to nearly 60 years in federal prison.

Stafon Jamar Davis, 28, was sentenced to 700 months in prison by U.S. District Court Judge R. Stan Baker after pleading guilty to Premeditated Murder and Possession of a Firearm, said David H. Estes, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. After completion of his prison term, Davis will be required to serve five years of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.

“Stafon Davis is a cold-blooded murderer who shot and killed the wife of a deployed soldier in her sleep and burned her car to cover his tracks,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Estes. “Army CID, the FBI and the Savannah Police did an exemplary job of bringing this cowardly killer to justice.”

Abree Boykin, 24, was a resident of post housing at Fort Stewart Army Reservation, married to SGT Shawn Boykin, a member of the U.S. Army who was assigned to Fort Stewart’s 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division. At the time of the murder, SGT Boykin was deployed in South Korea. Davis, who had known Abree Boykin since childhood, was a fugitive from federal supervised release after having served a nearly eight-year federal prison sentence for armed robbery.

In pleading guilty to the murder, Davis admitted to shooting and killing Abree Boykin as she slept in her post residence in the early morning hours of July 9, 2018. Davis then fled Fort Stewart in her vehicle. He gave the murder weapon to an acquaintance who later sold it, and engaged the assistance of an accomplice to burn the vehicle in a remote area outside Hardeeville, S.C.

“Although glad to see today’s sentencing, it will never bring back Abree Boykin, the wife of a deployed soldier when she was killed.  She was needlessly gunned down in her sleep by this career criminal,” said Army CID Special Agent Joseph Thompson, who was the CID agent in charge at the time of the murder. “We sincerely appreciate all the hard work and cooperation from our fellow law enforcement agencies on this lengthy investigation.”

“The tireless work of the FBI Savannah Resident Agency, the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command, and other law enforcement partners has brought this tragic and senseless case to a conclusion that will hopefully provide some solace to Abree Boykin’s family,” said Chris Hacker, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “Justice has been served.”

Two other defendants also are implicated in the case:

• Jenard Patilla, 36, of Savannah, was found in possession of the murder weapon, a 9mm Taurus PT111 semi-automatic handgun, and was charged with Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon. He pled guilty and was sentenced May 28, 2020, to 45 months in federal prison and ordered to serve three years of supervised release.
• Devin Ryan, 30, of Hardeeville, S.C. awaits sentencing after pleading guilty to Use of Fire in Commission of a Federal Felony. Ryan, who met Davis while the two were in a halfway house serving federal supervised release, admitted helping Davis destroy Abree Boykin’s 2018 Honda Accord by dousing the interior with gasoline and setting it on fire. 

This case was investigated by the FBI and Army CID, and the Savannah Police Department, and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jennifer G. Solari and Katelyn Semales with assistance from Trial Attorney Jared Hosid of the U.S. Department of Justice Computer Crimes and Intellectual Property Section, and Southern District U.S. Attorney’s Office Investigative Analyst Karen Hartley.