Polly Hannah Klaas (January 3, 1981 – October 1, 1993) was an American murder victim whose case garnered national media attention.
[3] Davis was arrested two months after the kidnapping and led the police to Klaas's body, which was buried in a shallow grave in Sonoma County.
[4] After a long and tumultuous trial, Davis was convicted on June 18, 1996, of first-degree murder with four special circumstances (robbery, burglary, kidnapping, and attempted lewd act on a child) in Klaas's death.
At his formal sentencing, Davis provoked national outrage by taunting his victim's family, extending both middle fingers at a courtroom camera[6] and later saying that Klaas's last words just before he killed her implied that her father molested her.
[11] He has made himself available to parents of kidnapped children and has appeared frequently on Larry King Live, CNN Headline News and Nancy Grace.
[20][independent source needed] On May 9, 2022, Crime Junkie released an episode on Polly Klaas and discussed how the case set a precedent for California's Three Strikes law.
[21][independent source needed] ABC aired an episode of 20/20 centered on the Polly Klaas case called Taken In The Night on September 22, 2023.
[22][independent source needed] ABC-7 News Bay Area (KGO) aired an episode of ABC7 Originals, "Struck by Justice: The Impact of Polly Klaas" on March 11, 2024.