John Jefferson
Left: Bill Curl and Lucy Pat Curl (First Baptist Orlando). Right: Ronald Davis (Orange County Jail).
The wife of a Florida pastor who was viciously beaten during a burglary at her home has died.
Lucy Pat Curl, 85, was taken off life support and died Wednesday. Her husband Bill Curl was a longtime pastor at First Baptist Orlando.
The events that ended Lucy Curl’s life unfolded on Saturday morning, when she answered a knock on the door of her Orlando home. The suspect, 55-year-old Ronald Dwayne Davis, was posing as a community service officer — and then attacked the woman. Her husband found her a couple of hours after the attack.
A letter to fellow church members from family announced the death.
“The circumstances of her passing are shocking and abrupt, and not what we would have expected or chosen. But as our Lord has forgiven us, we are asked to forgive each other,” the letter obtained by Spectrum News 13 said.
With that in mind, Bill Curl took a photo of his wife after she died.
“When asked what he would do with a picture like that, his response was, ‘I’m going to show it to the man who did this to her. Then I’m going to forgive him. I refuse to let his actions dictate who I am,”” family wrote.
Lucy Curl’s funeral is set for Feb. 16.
Davis was arrested on charges of home invasion robbery with a weapon, aggravated battery on person 65 or older with great bodily harm and aggravated battery with a weapon. As of Wednesday afternoon, charges had not yet been upgraded to reflect the victim’s death.
As Law&Crime previously reported, Bill Curl called police around 1:30 p.m. Saturday to report a break-in at his home in the 2300 block of Caribbean Court after he found his wife suffering from serious head wounds.
Before doctors induced her into a coma, Lucy Curl relayed her version of events to detectives. She said she was preparing to leave for a hair appointment when she heard a knock on the door between 10:30 and 11 a.m. She thought someone may be in trouble, so she answered the door, a probable cause affidavit said.
The man, later identified as Davis, claimed to be a community service officer and needed to check her residence, the affidavit said. She asked him for some identification and he pulled out his wallet that contained his ID. He then allegedly forced his way inside her home and started attacking her, dropping the wallet in the process. She tried to fight back, but was rendered unconscious. Police would later find a crystal candy jar with her hair on it, suggesting that Davis may have beat her with it, cops noted.
When she woke up, Lucy Curl was bleeding from her head and her ribs and back were hurting, per the affidavit. She couldn’t find her phone so she crawled to her garage where she honked the horn on her car for some 15 minutes in hopes someone would come help. After no one came, she went to lay on the couch where her husband found her a couple hours later. Paramedics rushed her to the hospital where doctors induced her into a coma “with the high likelihood of not surviving,” cops wrote.
A search of the home revealed several items of jewelry were missing, according to police — as well as Davis’ dropped wallet, which police brought with them to Davis’ home. He was apparently living in a shed on the home’s property with his girlfriend. Detectives went to the shed, and Davis initially gave his middle name, the affidavit said. Police asked Davis for his ID but he allegedly claimed he had lost it along with his wallet a few weeks prior. His girlfriend also came to the door and detectives reportedly noticed she was wearing “several unique pieces of jewelry and rings.” She allegedly later told officers that Davis had just given her the items.
Cops also found more jewelry and coins, along with a bloodied shirt inside the shed, according to the affidavit.
According to police, Davis walked out of a Florida prison in June after serving 15 years for burglary, false imprisonment and other charges. He’s now in the Orange County Jail without bond. He has a court hearing scheduled for Friday.
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