Was a police search for a murder weapon cut short by a guard dog's growl?

"Willow," a black and white female pit bull mix loved by her owners, didn't seem destined to become a key figure in a murder investigation. But that's exactly what happened. It was Aug. 12, 2023, when the dog became known to law enforcement in New Haven, Indiana.

That morning, police would hear about Willow, and how she was a protective guard dog. But they wouldn't meet her. And that's one of many places where this story gets fascinating as correspondent Peter Van Sant reports in "A Death in the Stairwell, now streaming on Paramount+.

Willow belonged to Kevin and Alison Davis , a married couple. Steve Krause, Alison Davis' father, tells Van Sant how much Kevin and Alison loved each other, calling each other "babe." Alison Davis' best friend, Kasey Klemm, says they were a happy couple who danced together in the kitchen. Krause explains, "They had no children, so the dog was … like a child" to them. Their friend, Jason Young, says that Willow was "a big barker and kind of intimidating at first," but that in "two minutes the dog doesn't care about you anymore."

The night Kevin Davis sustained his injuries, he and Alison Davis had been out together at a local tavern. Friends and the tavern staff say it was a typical night and that they seemed happy when they headed home around 1 a.m. Alison Davis would later tell police that when they did get home, she and Kevin had an argument, so she went to sleep on a couch downstairs. Kevin Davis headed to their upstairs bedroom – where Willow was too. Alison Davis says she was awakened by a loud noise. She says she found Kevin Davis unresponsive, face down, in a large pool of blood. Alison Davis would tell a 911 operator and first responders that Kevin Davis had fallen down the stairs.

After emergency responders rushed Kevin Davis to the hospital, Det. James Krueger would question Alison Davis. She would sign paperwork, giving consent to police to enter and search the home. But Alison Davis warned the detective about Willow: "She's a guard dog. I don't know if she'd do anything, and I don't want anything to happen to her," said Alison Davis.

Krueger told her he wouldn't go in that room. He says when he went upstairs, "I could hear the dog walking around in there … So I cracked the door open … I got the teeth, and the growls and everything. And there was no way that dog was letting me in that room." Krueger looked around the rest of the house. He felt "everything checked out" and that Alison Davis' story was true — this was a tragic, fatal fall.

Kevin Davis had massive traumatic injuries to his head. He would not survive another day. Family and friends say Alison Davis was devastated by the loss of the husband she loved. But police came to think differently. Four months later, Indiana authorities would charge Alison Davis with murder. Detective Krueger concluded, "This is a wife that lost it and beat her husband to death." Authorities say she used an improvised weapon, like an exercise weight, perhaps a baseball bat. But no weapon was ever found.

After 17 months of incarceration, Alison Davis — who has always maintained her innocence — would go on trial for murder.