Accused Thirza Sweeten Killer Denied Bail Reduction

Samuel Kevin Davis, 45, will remain jailed on $750,000 bail for allegedly killing Paulsboro great-grandmother Thirza Sweeten, a judge ruled Monday.

Davis, who goes by Kevin Davis and is also of Paulsboro, has been jailed since June. His attorney sought to lower the bail to $100,000, arguing that Davis hasn’t been indicted, the Gloucester County Prosecutor’s Office said in a statement. Assistant Gloucester County Prosecutor Temperance Williamson countered that Davis’ case will be presented for indictment, or formal charges, at the next grand jury session.

Superior Court Judge Walter A. Marshall Jr. sided with the prosecution.

Sweeten, 79, was beaten to death in her South Delaware Avenue home on March 19. She died from both blunt- and sharp-force trauma, and the murder weapons were reportedly found at the scene. The investigation circled Davis from the beginning and he was arrested on June 28. He’s charged with first-degree murder and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose.

Sweeten’s death shocked her neighbors. A native of Manchester, England who moved to Paulsboro in the 1970s, the 79-year-old cancer survivor was a regular at Cowtown in Woodstown, and lived on a quiet corner in the borough.

For more of West Deptford Patch’s coverage on the case, see:

• Prosecutor: Person Of Interest ID'd in Thirza Sweeten's Death
• Prosecutor: Investigation Continuing in Thirza Sweeten's Murder
• Murder Suspect Charged in Thirza Sweeten Case
• Prosecutors Offer Details Surrounding Arrest in Thirza Sweeten's Murder
• Samuel Kevin Davis Charged with Thirza Sweeten's Murder