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Nola "Ann" Charles' Crozet home was on fire on February 19, 2003. After firefighters responded to the scene, they found the 41-year-old dead with a knife in the back and throat slit open. Charles' three-year-old son William was also found dead from smoke inhalation in a nearby room. The only survivors were her two daughters, who escaped from their first-floor rooms.
While interviewing neighbors, siblings Rocky and Jessica Fugett confessed to the crime and falsely implicated their schoolmate Robert Davis. All three were charged with first-degree murder and other related charges. Rocky pleaded guilty to a 75-year term, while Jessica was convicted and given 100 years. Meanwhile, Davis was wrongfully convicted after authorities coerced him into making a false confession.
An upcoming episode of Dateline: Secrets Uncovered is slated to examine the Crozet double homicide of Nola "Ann" Charles and her son. The episode, titled The Interrogation, will air on Oxygen this Tuesday, April 24, at 8:00 pm ET. Here's a look at the synopsis for the episode:
"Robert Davis, who was convicted of murdering a woman and her son, claims his confession was coerced and tries to prove he is innocent."
The Interrogation will revisit the case from the perspective of Robert Davis' wrongful conviction.
Nola "Ann" Charles died of multiple stab wounds and blunt force trauma to the head, three people were arrested for the crime
Firefighters were called to a house fire at Nola "Ann" Charles' Cling Lane, Crozet, home on February 19, 2003, where the 41-year-old mother was found dead on the second floor. She was duct-taped to a bed with her neck slit and stabbed with a charred kitchen knife in the back. A later autopsy determined that the mother-of-three died from multiple stab wounds and blunt force trauma to the head.
Charles' three-year-old son, William, also died during the incident. He was discovered dead from smoke inhalation in a nearby room. The only survivors were her two daughters, Wendie, 16, and Katie, 8, who were also present inside the house at the time and managed to escape from their first-floor rooms.
At the crime scene, investigators found little-to-no evidence that could lead them to any potential suspects. Reports state that they were unable to find any fingerprints or DNA evidence. Moreover, there were no witnesses. Investigators only got their first break in the case while interviewing neighbors.
Two days after the incident, investigators interviewed 19-year-old Rocky Fugett, who lived across the street from where the victims resided. Fugett admitted to the crime and implicated his 15-year-old sister Jessica and 18-year-old high school senior Robert Davis, whose house was located just down the street from the Fugetts' home.
The second person in line was Jessica Fugett, who confessed and backed her brother's claim, alleging Davis' involvement. She even directed authorities to a field behind Nola "Ann" Charles' home, where they discovered the pipe that was used to bludgeon her to death, a key to their house, and other items buried in snow. The blood on the pipes also tested positive for Charles' blood.
Teenage siblings confessed and falsely implicated another in Nola "Ann" Charles and her son's murders
Robert Davis was arrested shortly after midnight on February 22, and interrogated for over five hours during which he was threatened with the death penalty and coerced into making a false confession. Rocky Fugett later gave multiple interviews in the following months and changed his account each time. All three were then charged with first-degree murder, arson, and breaking and entering.
In November 2003, Rocky Fugett pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and was handed a 75-year prison sentence. The following April, Robert Davis entered a guilty-plea after his false confession, receiving 23 years in prison. Meanwhile, Jessica Fugett was initially ruled incompetent to stand trial and only stood trial in the fall of 2005, when a jury found her guilty of all charges, handing her a 100-year sentence.
Davis, who was wrongfully convicted in the double murder case of Nola "Ann" Charles and her son, was released from prison in December 2015, after serving 13 years, and was later granted a full pardon based on actual innocence.
Reports state that Rocky and Jessica Fugett are serving their respective sentences at the Sussex I State Prison and Fluvanna Correctional Center for Women.
Oxygen's Dateline: Secrets Uncovered will further delve into the case involving the double murders of Nola "Ann" Charles and her son this Wednesday.
