John Jefferson
Background: Tabi’s Lake Country Wine Bar in Hartland, Wisconsin. Inset left: Kevin Sehmer. Inset right: Joshua Davies (WITI/YouTube).
The Wisconsin man who punched a bar patron to death because he didn’t like the look of his tattoos will spend several years behind bars — but that’s not enough for the surviving family of the victim.
As Law&Crime previously reported, Kevin Sehmer punched Joshua Davies, 39, outside of Tabi’s Lake Country Wine Bar in Hartland, some 30 miles west of Milwaukee, on June 17, 2023. Davies suffered a traumatic brain injury, and as a police statement noted, he was going “in and out of consciousness” when first responders arrived.
Davies died around a month later, on July 12, 2023.
On Friday, Sehmer, now 65 years old, was sentenced to seven years in prison for the fatal attack, court records show. He was convicted on Aug. 1 of felony murder by batter. He will get credit for the 423 days he has been behind bars and will serve an additional five years of supervised release.
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According to a criminal complaint, Sehmer didn’t like Davies’ tattoos. He commented that Davies was “going to hell, and God would not save him.” Sehmer followed Davies out of the bar, where he punched him.
Davies and his wife, Jennifer Davies, were at Tabi’s on a date that night. She spoke at Sehmer’s sentencing.
“I never imagined I’d be in a courtroom addressing the death of my husband,” Jennifer Davies said, according to Milwaukee Fox outlet WITI. “Josh was filled with laughter, love and kindness,” she added.
Family members were disappointed in the sentence handed down by Judge William J. Domina.
“I guess our family was just hoping for a lot more today,” a tearful Jamie Davies, Josh’s sister, told WITI.
Davies’ father was blunt in his assessment of the ruling.
“What he got was not nearly enough,” said Davies’ father Edward Davies, according to local CBS affiliate WDJT. “I don’t like the verdict at all.”
Sehmer, who didn’t testify at his trial, also spoke in court on his own behalf.
“I don’t dare ask for forgiveness, I don’t forgive myself,” he said, WITI reported.
“I know everyone is searching for answers,” he also reportedly said. “I don’t have any to bring peace. I don’t know why I went outside. Something triggered it.”
The victim’s parents mourned the loss of their son, who also left behind three children, according to an obituary.
“You picked on the wrong guy when you picked on Josh, he was one of the good guys,” Davies mother, Patti Pearson, said, according to WITI.
Sehmer had allegedly told investigators he thought Davies and another man were using bar stools to attack him, and he pushed Davies back to protect himself. However, surveillance didn’t match the suspect’s account.
Sehmer was initially charged with battery. After Davies died, those charges were upgraded to felony murder.
Jason Kandel contributed to this report.
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