DA to explore Norwood link to '85 death

AUSTIN (KXAN) - The Travis County District Attorney's office will consider comparing evidence in the 1985 murder of Natalie Antonetti to evidence collected from the Christine Morton and Debra Baker murder scenes.

All three women were beaten to death in their homes in the middle to late 1980s. All three also lived within miles of Mark Alan Norwood, who has been charged in the Morton killing in Williamson County and is awaiting trial.

Travis County Assistant District Attorney Buddy Meyer said Tuesday his office is considering a review of the evidence in the Antonetti case, but has not made a final decision about how to proceed. He said the review would include a comparison of evidence in the Antonetti, Morton and Baker cases.

Dennis Davis was convicted by a Travis County jury in April 2011 for the Antonetti murder and sentenced to 36 years in prison. The two had been involved in a romantic relationship before the murder and Davis was a suspect at the time of the killing. Detectives could not tie him to the murder until another ex-girlfriend came forward to say Davis confessed to her in 1988, but she had been too afraid to come forward.

During the Davis trial, Antonetti's son, Austin musician Johnny Goudie, sat on the front row and told KXAN at the time that he believed his mother's killer had finally been brought to justice.

"I still believe it was Dennis Davis (who killed Antonetti)," Goudie said Tuesday afternoon.

He declined to make any further comment.

Meyer said there is no timeframe for a decision about how to proceed and that his office is in the preliminary stages of discussing the similarities in the three cases.

"I would expect them to investigate anyone and everyone who might possibly be involved," said Russell Hunt, Jr., the attorney representing Mark Norwood in the Morton case.

Watch continuing coverage of this case Tuesday on KXAN News at 10 p.m.