Man killed ex-girlfriend in front of her family during fight, OR officials say

A 32-year-old man is going to prison after being accused of killing his estranged girlfriend in 2023, Oregon officials said.

Prior to the November 2023 killing, Richard David Simms Jr., had been in an estranged relationship with Nicole Davis, according to an Aug. 20 news release by the Multnomah County district attorney.

Then, two days before the killing, Simms punched Davis in the face, giving her a black eye, prosecutors said.

During the estrangement, Simms left the apartment they shared and came back angry after learning Davis’ family was staying there for the Thanksgiving holiday, prosecutors said.

Her family ended up finding a new place to stay, but when they got back to the apartment complex from the grocery store, Simms got into an argument with the family members, officials said.

Simms pulled out a gun and pointed it at Davis before pulling the trigger, officials said.

The gun jammed and Davis started to go back to the apartment, but Simms got the gun working and shot her three times in her back, killing her, officials said.

“Domestic violence is one of the most insidious crimes we confront because it usually occurs in the shadows of intimate relationships. This case however, was among the most callous acts of indifference to human life I have ever witnessed—Ms. Davis was shot in the back in front of her own family, by a person who claimed to have loved her. It is a stark reminder of the devastation domestic violence brings, not only to the victims, but to their loved ones and our entire community,” Multnomah County Senior Deputy District Attorney Glen Banfield said in the release.

Simms was arrested four months after the shooting, officials told KOIN.

Simms was convicted on charges of manslaughter, unlawful use of a weapon and possession of a firearm, officials said.

On Aug. 19, he was sentenced to 29 years in prison, prosecutors said.

Multnomah County is part of the Portland area.