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RESOURCES |
| Coral Eugene Watts confessed in 1982 to killing or attacking 19 women. Here is a summary of the cases:
Oct. 31, 1979: Jeanne Clyne, 35, was stabbed to death on a sidewalk in the exclusive Detroit suburb of Grosse Point Farms as she walked home from a doctor's appointment. Police said Watts stabbed Clyne at least 10 times with a woodworking tool similar to a screwdriver. Sept. 5, 1981: Linda Tilley, 22, was drowned in the swimming pool at her Austin apartment complex. Houston police Sgt. Tom Ladd said Watts had trailed another girl for several hours from Houston but lost track of her in Austin and then spotted Tilley. Ladd said Tilley's death had been ruled accidental until Watts confessed. Sept. 12, 1981: Elizabeth Montgomery, 25, was stabbed once outside her Houston apartment while she walked her dog. Police said Montgomery apparently made it home before dying. Less than two miles away, Susan Wolf, 21, was stabbed in the arm and chest outside her Houston apartment as she carried groceries from her car. Her body was found outside her apartment. Jan. 4, 1982: Phyllis Tamm, 27, was found hanging from a small tree near Houston's Rice University. Tamm's death was not ruled a homicide until Watts' confession. The medical examiner could not tell if her death was a freak accident. Jan. 17, 1982: Architecture student Margaret Fossi, 25, was found dead in the trunk of her car, which was parked at Rice University. She had been reported missing a day earlier. Fossi died by asphyxia caused by a blow to the throat. Watts told police that he later spotted Julia Sanchez on a freeway as she tried to fix a flat tire. Watts slashed Sanchez's throat and left her for dead, but she survived. Jan. 29, 1982: Watts followed Alice Martell, 19, to her Seabrook apartment where he stabbed her three times with an ice pick. She survived. Jan. 30, 1982: Watts unsuccessfully tried to kill Galveston resident Patty Johnson by slashing her throat. Another man had been sentenced to life in prison for the attack until Watts took responsibility. Feb. 7, 1982: Elena Semander, 20, was found dead in a Houston trash bin. Watts said he strangled her with her shirt, then threw away her body. March 20, 1982: Emily LaQua, 14, was strangled on her way to her new job as a waitress in Brookshire. She had just moved from Seattle to live with her father in Texas and at first was thought to have run away. Her body was found five months later stuffed in a culvert. This is the only case for which Watts did not receive immunity. March 27, 1982: Edith Ledet, 34, was stabbed to death in Galveston as she returned home from a graduation party. Her body was found in a walkway near some apartments. Ledet was to have graduated later that day from the University of Texas Medical Branch, where she had earned her degree after giving up an accounting career. Later that morning, Watts attacked Glenda Kirby, who lived several blocks away. Kirby escaped Watts' grip because his hands were bloody from killing Ledet, prosecutor Ira Jones said. April 15, 1982: Yolanda Gracia, 21, was stabbed to death in her front lawn as she returned home. She was found clutching a bag that contained her work shoes. April 16, 1982: Carrie Jefferson, 32, was strangled and then stabbed twice as she returned home from her job at Houston's downtown post office. Watts buried Jefferson's body along White Oak Bayou. April 21, 1982: Suzanne Searles, 25, was grabbed as she returned home from a party. Watts told police that while he was strangling her, he couldn't tell if she was dead so he held her head in a flowerpot full of water. Watts buried Searles, who had moved to Houston from Des Moines, Iowa. Her grave was the first to which he led police following his confession in 1982. May 23, 1982: Michelle Maday, 20, was returning home about 4 a.m. when Watts choked her to death outside her apartment. Watts told police he took Maday's body into the apartment and dumped it in the bathtub. Watts was arrested later as he attempted to kill Lori Lister and her roommate, Melinda Aguilar. By The Associated Press |
Friday, Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm requested that Watts be turned over to authorities there in connection with the 1979 murder of a woman in Ferndale, a Detroit suburb.
Watts, who confessed to killing 13 women, is scheduled to be released in two years unless convicted of another crime.
Perry's action doesn't mean Watts will immediately be moved from Texas, however. A Texas Department of Corrections spokeswoman explained that Watts will now have a state district court hearing in Walker County, at which he can either fight the extradition process or waive that right.
If Watts chooses to oppose the extradition, an attorney would have to be appointed to represent him, another hearing set within 30 days and any actual transfer could take weeks or longer.
Watts has given no indication of his plans, said the spokeswoman. "He doesn't talk to anyone, so it's anybody's guess whether he'll fight it or not," she said.
Perry credited Texas agencies with the developments in the Watts case.
"Much of the credit on this investigation goes to Texas Rangers, members of the Department of Public Safety special crimes unit and the Harris County district attorney's office who worked diligently with Michigan authorities for more than a year in their efforts to identify other possible victims of Watts," said Perry.
The Ferndale case, however, was not one that had been considered by Texas or Michigan authorities.
After a Houston Chronicle story revealed in 2002 that Watts was up for release in 2006, Michigan authorities formed a task force to investigate possible cases against the former Detroit resident, and national news media began carrying the story.
A witness to the Ferndale killing saw Watts' picture on television and contacted authorities.
Watts, 50, was sent to prison on an aggravated burglary charge as part of a plea bargain in which he provided information and confessed to the 13 killings in return for immunity from prosecution.
Watts is suspected of killing more than 80 others in Texas, Michigan and Canada.
He was expected to serve 60 years, but a glitch in his sentencing left him eligible for "good time," giving him credit for three days for every day served.