CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Ashanti Bess told investigators he shot his longtime mentor Anthony Davis after the older man offered to pay him for sexual favors one night last year.
The new details came to light during Bess guilty plea on Thursday morning. He admitted killing Anthony Davis, his former middle school teacher who at times allowed Bess to live with him during Bess troubled teenage years.
Bess, 23, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and armed robbery in the February, 2010 killing. He was sentenced to between 21 and 27 years in prison.
As attorneys read aloud the facts of Davis murder, Bess stood before Superior Court Judge Robert Bell wearing an orange jail uniform and stoic expression, with his hands cuffed in front of him
Davis, a 38-year-old teacher at Randolph Middle School, was found shot to death in his bed, with the sheet and comforter still covering him, Assistant District Attorney Gabrielle Macon told the court.
Bess turned himself in and confessed to the murder a few days after Davis body was found, Macon said. Bess told investigators Davis had propositioned him for a frontal massage and, later, offered him money for sex.
Bess attorney, Jean Lawson, didn t go into detail about what her client says happened the night of Davis murder, saying only Anthony Davis had problems.
