Austin man sentenced to decades in prison for attacking another man with a hatchet and dumping his body

Brian Davis was convicted of murder, robbery and evading arrest with a prior conviction in connection with the 2023 death of John Walker Oden.

AUSTIN, Texas — An Austin man has been convicted and sentenced on multiple charges after he attacked another man with a hatchet in 2023 before dumping his body on a sidewalk.

According to the Travis County District Attorney’s Office, late last month, a jury convicted 43-year-old Brian Davis of murder, robbery and evading arrest with a prior conviction in the death of 53-year-old John Walker Oden.

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Investigators discovered that Davis and his girlfriend had been guests in Oden’s home. Just after midnight on Oct. 3, 2023, court documents showed that Oden told Davis and his girlfriend that they couldn’t stay at his home anymore, but he offered to take the pair to a hospital to address a medical issue the woman was having.

While Oden was driving, Davis attacked him from the backseat with what court documents called a “battle axe style hatchet” that he had brought with him from Oden’s house.

After stopping the car on the sidewalk of the frontage road of the 12100 block of North MoPac, the DA’s release said Davis pulled Oden out of the car, got in the front seat and drove over Oden.

When an arrest warrant was issued for Davis, members of the Lone Star Fugitive Task Force found that he was already in the Travis County Jail for an attempted carjacking and evading a peace officer that happened later on the morning of Oct. 3, 2023.

On Dec. 13, 2023, Davis was indicted for murder, later enhanced by his two prior trips to prison for robbery, burglary of a habitation and deadly conduct. He was also indicted for robbery and evading arrest with a prior conviction. Those two cases were later consolidated with the murder charge.

On Aug. 24, 2026, a jury was selected, and the state began presenting evidence on Aug. 25. The following day, after Davis requested a competency evaluation and the court ruled him competent to proceed with the trial, the state continued presenting.

On Aug. 28, the jury found Davis guilty of murder, robbery and evading arrest with a prior conviction. He was sentenced to 60 years for the murder charge, 25 years for the robbery and five years for the evading arrest charge, all to be served concurrently in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.