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.
Lucy Curl’s life came to a tragic end when she opened the door of her Orlando home on a Saturday morning. The individual at the door, Ronald Dwayne Davis, pretended to be a community service officer before assaulting her. She was discovered by her husband a couple of hours later.
A letter to fellow church members from family announced the death.
Following Lucy’s death, a letter retrieved by Spectrum News 13 expressed that the circumstances surrounding her passing were unexpected and startling. The family, however, emphasized the importance of forgiveness, stating that just as they have been forgiven by the Lord, they are called to forgive one another.
With that in mind, Bill Curl took a photo of his wife after she died.
In a poignant moment, Lucy’s family shared that when asked about a particular photo, Ronald Dwayne Davis mentioned his plan to show it to the person responsible for her death. Despite the tragedy, he declared his intention to forgive the individual, adamant that his actions would not define him.
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.
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.
