Body of Man Wanted for Questioning Discovered : Mystery: The Laguna Niguel cashier sought in the slayings of his wife and stepdaughter was found beneath a transmission tower, with electric burns.

The body of a Laguna Niguel man wanted for questioning in the slayings of his wife and stepdaughter was found Tuesday beneath a massive transmission tower, where he may have been electrocuted, sheriff’s deputies said.

Robert William Davis Jr., 38, a gas station cashier once sent to state prison for assault with intent to commit mayhem and sex offenses, was discovered in some brush about 1:30 p.m. by a woman walking her dog in Ryerson Park, the site of four high-tension towers.

Lt. Richard J. Olson, a spokesman for the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, said electrical burns were on the body, but no apparent evidence of other injury. He declined to speculate whether Davis’ death was a suicide or accidental.

Olson said, however, that some residents of a trailer park at nearby Lakewood Equestrian Center told authorities that they saw a flash of light at the top of one of the gray steel structures about 8:30 p.m. Monday.

“There was a tremendous flash of light--almost like it was lightning--and there was a giant boom,” said Gloria Simpson, an owner of the center. “The horses were turning in their stalls because it’s usually quiet here. I thought there was an explosion. . . .”

Davis was wanted for questioning in the deaths of Suzette Davis, 39, and her daughter, Jodi Nordfelt, 20. Olson said their bodies were found at 9 a.m. Monday in their Laguna Niguel home after sheriff’s deputies received a call from a family member who was concerned that they were missing.

According to sheriff’s deputies, Davis was bludgeoned to death, her face unrecognizable, while her daughter was strangled. Olson said medical examiners also had trouble immediately identifying Nordfelt and had to rely on fingerprinting to confirm both identities.

Davis has been missing since Sunday morning, when he dropped off his 13-year-old stepdaughter, Sylvia Burke, at her grandmother’s house, family friends said.

Authorities speculated that he might have gone to Hawaiian Gardens and Lakewood, where he has other relatives. Homicide detectives said they were conducting part of their investigation Tuesday in that area.

Meanwhile, friends of the Davises remained in shock about the deaths of Suzette Davis and Nordfelt, whose bodies were discovered after Sylvia became worried about her family and telephoned the Sheriff’s Department.

When deputies arrived at the Davis apartment on Niguel Road near Crown Valley Parkway, they found the door locked. The women were found after an apartment manager unlocked the door for deputies with a master key. No signs of forced entry were found by investigators, Olson said.

Nordfelt’s best friend, Haidh Nehr, described Davis as unstable and said there had been friction between him and his stepdaughter. Recently, Nehr said, their relationship seemed to improve when Davis got back together with his wife after a separation.

Nehr said the last time she spoke with Nordfelt was on Saturday, when the two went to dinner. Over supper, they chatted animatedly about starting a clothing designer business together and the upcoming Super Bowl game.

Nordfelt had returned from living in Oregon three weeks ago. She moved into her mother’s apartment after she broke up with her fiance.

“She was just getting her life back together,” Nehr said. “I can’t imagine what caused this.”

Laura Mai, manager of the Blockbuster Video store where Nordfelt worked since returning from Oregon, described her employee as a “bright and cheerful person” who “fit right in with the crew” and never mentioned anything about family troubles.

Although Davis was wanted for questioning, detectives had not officially named him as a suspect in the deaths.

The man they were searching for has a criminal record going back to at least 1978 when Davis was convicted and sentenced to three years in prison for assault with intent to commit mayhem, sodomy and oral copulation. He served a year and was placed on parole.

In 1989, Davis was convicted on two counts of grand theft and sentenced to a year in Orange County Jail. While in custody he pleaded to be set free, complaining in court documents that--”I am going crazy in here, I just can’t handle it.”

He remained in jail and continued to plead with a judge for mercy in rambling, handwritten notes: “Hardship and mental reasons is because I am in jail and can’t take care of my wife and daughter so my wife wants to divorce me. . . . Please, in God’s name, help me.”

Staff writers Matt Lait and Henry Chu and correspondent Frank Messina contributed to this report.