Davis was a 52-year-old ex-convict arrested in the early hours of November 15, 1951, while attempting to extort a ransom payment from Potts' family having falsely claimed to have kidnapped their daughter and sister. He had begun contacting the Potts family on November 9, claiming to be holding Beverly captive and demanding a $25,000 ransom for her release as opposed to cutting the "very sick" child's throat. Robert Potts successfully bartered the anonymous caller's ransom sum to $5,000 and agreed to hand over the money upon the promise his daughter would be released to her mother outside the Terminal Tower "within three hours." Against the caller's instructions, Potts informed Inspector McArthur of these developments.Twilight of Innocence: The Disappearance of Beverly Potts, pp. 108-115
