Ex-Calif. recall candidate convicted of Atlanta murder

<p>A former candidate for California governor was sentenced to life in prison on Monday after he was found guilty of the 1996 slaying of an Atlanta businessman.</p><p>Scott Davis was arrested in November 2005 and charged with one count of murder and two counts of felony murder in the death of David Coffin Jr.</p><p>Prosecutors said Davis shot and killed Coffin in his Buckhead mansion and then set fire to the house to hide the murder. They said Coffin was romantically involved with Davis' estranged wife, who had filed for divorce three months before Coffin's death.</p><p>Davis was one of 135 candidates in California's 2003 recall election won by actor Arnold Schwarzenegger, but dropped out of the race amid news he was a homicide suspect. The self-employed software consultant had been previously charged in Coffin's death, but the charges were dropped in 1998 for lack of evidence.</p><p>Authorities said new information came to light in 2005, leading to the renewed prosecution.</p><p>Coffin, 41, was a member of a prominent Connecticut family that founded The Dexter Corp. in Windsor Locks, Conn. The company produced chemicals for aerospace, automotive, electronics, medical and food packaging industries.</p><p>Coffin also had investments in a wastewater treatment plant in metro Atlanta and in a power plant in Central America. He moved from Atlanta to Connecticut in 1991.</p>