Haunted House actor admits to murdering and disemboweling high school friend - as victim's grieving father makes surprising statement
A haunted house actor has confessed to the murder and dismemberment of a high school friend who stayed with him on the way to visit his girlfriend in Alabama.
Brandon Christopher Risner, 23, admitted to killing Aaron William Davis, 21, in November 2022 after turning himself into police.
Cops found Davis' Toyota Prius car abandoned and later discovered his body buried in a shallow grave close to Risner's house.
But the acknowledgement of guilt served as only some comfort to Davis' parents, with his grieving father making a surprising statement about his son's killer.
Randy Davis says the two men had been such good friends that he felt like he had lost a second son.
Haunted house actor, Brandon Christopher Risner, 23, has confessed to the murder and dismemberment of a high school friend
Aaron William Davis, 21, was killed in November 2022 while staying at Risner's house
'He's been as much of a son to us as anyone. It's really like losing two kids at this point. It just felt like betrayal,' Randy told 11Alive.
The pair attended both the same high school and church in Cumming, Georgia.
Davis, a recent BYU-Idaho graduate, stopped at Risner's home on his way to Alabama but never reached his destination, leading his family to call the police.
The indictment detailed Risner's efforts to hide the crime, including cleaning blood stains and moving Davis' body.
'He (Risner) removed the body of Davis from one location off Collingwood Road to another off of Tumlin Drive where he buried said person in an unmarked grave,' a criminal indictment seen by CourtTV reads.
'(Risner) attempted to get rid of the vehicle driven by (Davis), which contained blood, and tried to remove blood on the mattress and the carpet and a rug as well as blood and blood spatter on a ceiling of an upstairs bedroom,' the indictment states.
Davis and Risner, pictured, had been friends for years essentially growing up together having attended the same high school and church in Cumming, Georgia
Randy Davis, the father of Aaron, said losing his own son and having Risner go to jail was 'like losing two kids'. The pair had been incredibly close growing together in Georgia
Brandon Risner agreed to plead guilty to the stabbing and dismembering of his best friend
Davis stayed with Risner en route to visit his girlfriend in Alabama - but the visit cost him his life
Risner initially fled following the killing but later surrendered.
Court documents describe how Risner got Davis drunk during a night out at a bar.
Risner initially fled following the killing of his friend but later surrendered to police
After going back to Risner's house, Davis went to sleep in an upstairs guest bedroom.
At some point during his stay, he was stabbed to death.
'During the night or early morning hours of the following day, [Risner] allegedly used a sharp object to stab Mr. Davis multiple times in the head, chest, torso and extremities, leading to his death,' court documents detail.
Risner removed some of Davis' body parts including a portion of of his small intestines.
'[He] placed the deceased body into Davis' vehicle, drove to another location, and buried him in a shallow unmarked grave.'
Risner pled guilty to multiple charges, including murder and evidence tampering.
