1991 Murder Of Newport Man Solved By Bristol County, MA, Cold Case Unit

NEWPORT, RI — The killer has been identified in the murder of a Newport man more than 30 years after his death, the Bristol County, Massachusetts, District Attorney's Office said Tuesday.

On Oct. 25, 1991, Brent Davis, 20, was shot and killed in New Bedford, Massachusetts, during a drug-related dispute at a housing complex. Witnesses identified the killer as a man a named "Bobby" and worked with police to create a composite sketch of him, but the case eventually went cold, the district attorney's office said.

But in 2020, the case was reopened. Investigators said they reopened the case after reviewing old reports and locating witnesses.

The district attorney's office said they learned "Bobby's" name was actually Claudio Jorge, and he fled the country after killing Davis. Investigators learned this by tracking down one of Jorge's relatives. The relative told investigators Jorge was killed during a robbery in the Dominican Republic in 2006.

The district attorney's office said they confirmed Jorge was "Bobby when the relative provided photographs of him to investigators.

"I'm very pleased with the efforts of our cold case unit, that after further investigation, has led to the identification of Claudio Jorge as the individual who murdered Brent Davis in 1991," Bristol County District Attorney Thomas Quinn said. "This case further shows our office does not give up on solving cold cases and will continue to put resources into investigations of cold case homicides. I’d like to thank Trooper Kate Sullivan for her efforts in the case that brought closure to the victim’s family after all these years."

According to the district attorney's office, Jorge had a lengthy criminal record dating back to 1983. It included drug and weapon charges. Jorge was incarcerated in New York in 1983 for an armed robbery and a shooting, and again in incarcerated in 1988 for narcotics and weapons offenses.

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