Evil Eyes (15 page)

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told her that the detectives in Homicide were “in an uproar” that she had gotten her hands on the material, albeit inadvertently.

Semander added that Jones asked for the documents, which she readily handed over. He then allegedly said, “And any copies you made.” She handed over the copies as well.

Semander noted that Jones thanked her and told her, “The buck stops with me.”

By the end of the month, Harriett Semander still had not received word from the police chief or the mayor. She decided some surveillance tactics of her own were needed. Chief Brown was scheduled to speak at the Neartown Civic Association meeting. Semander contacted the organization and informed them that she and her husband, along with Michael Maday and others, were interested in participating in the Q&A session with the police chief.

At the conclusion of the meeting, Harriett Semander approached the seemingly untouchable Lee Brown. She introduced herself. He recognized her and shook her hand. She asked to speak with him and he smiled and handed her a business card.

On July 28, 1982, Semander called Chief Brown’s office and set up a meeting over coffee for August 4, 1982. She would finally have the ears she wanted all along.

On the day of the meeting, Harriett Semander informed her group that she was “tired of all this running around and I’m going to just go ahead and ask for an internal investigation on police procedures in the handling of all the unsolved murders.” The group agreed and

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headed over to the police department’s coffee shop. They waited for thirty minutes.

Finally Chief Brown, flanked by Lieutenant Guy A. Mason and Detective Kenny Williamson, decided to join them. Semander was surprised Brown showed up. She was not, however, surprised by Brown’s response. He informed her that he, as well as the Houston Police Department, believed the murders were not the work of one person and that he backed his police officers.

Harriett Semander began to cry. “I broke down and cried because I realized that I had come to a brick wall and a dead end.” She was worn out from having gotten this far and to, once again, have been stonewalled. She asked, one more time, why Watts was not watched.

Brown ignored her last question.

Five days later, Coral Eugene Watts turned Chief Lee Brown into a liar. Watts agreed to plead guilty to “aggravated burglary” and “attempted murder” in the cases against Lori Lister and Melinda Aguilar in exchange for information that would lead to the discovery of some of his murder victims. For this information Watts would receive immunity for thirteen murders and six assaults.

The district attorney’s office claimed that they struck the deal because there was no physical evidence to link Watts to any of the murders. They also claimed that they had spoken with the families of the victims and agreed that the plea bargain would help ease their minds about the deaths of their daughters—especially, the women whose bodies had not yet been discovered.

Most of the families denied ever being informed of the plea bargain. Many of the surviving family members,

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such as Harriettt Semander and Jane Montgomery, were livid when they heard the news. They could not believe that the state would negotiate with a serial killer. Especially without conferring with them first.

On August 9, 1982, Watts began to confess to police and prosecutors from Austin, Texas, Galveston, Texas, and Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan. His confessions lasted more than twenty-eight hours.

The following text is the actual interrogation and confession by Coral Eugene Watts in regard to the murder of Elizabeth Montgomery:

Tom Ladd (TL): The first case we’d like to bring up we talked about yesterday, about the female over on the southwest end of town who was walking the dog. Do you remember that one? Coral Watts (CW ): Yes.

TL: Alright, now start it out. You just go ahead in your own words and tell us what happened. About what time of night was it?

CW: I don’t remember what time it was. TL: Was it after dark?

CW: Yes.

TL: Well, do you believe it was before or after midnight? CW: It was before midnight.

TL: On the night did you drive over to that area of town in your own car?

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CW: Yes.

TL: Alright, when did you first see her? CW: Ah, walking the dog down the street.

TL: Alright, do you remember what was on the street? Houses, businesses, apartments?

CW: Apartments.

TL: Apartments. Alright, and she was walking her dog? CW: Yeah.

TL: How many dogs was she walking? CW: Two.

TL: Alright, do you remember what kind of dogs they were or what color?

CW: They was two white dogs.

TL: Two white dogs. Were they on a leash, or were they running loose?

CW: I think one was on a leash. I don’t know about the other one.

TL: Alright, do you want to tell us what happened here? How did you approach her?

CW: Ah, from the side.

TL: Did she see you approach? CW: No.

TL: Alright, when did she realize that you were by her? CW: Ah, after I grabbed her.

TL: Alright, now you grabbed her by what? The shoulder? CW: Ah, by the neck.

TL: By the neck. Then what happened? CW: Then I stabbed her one time.

TL: All right, what type of knife did you have? CW: Kitchen knife. A pretty long one.

TL: Are you talking about a knife that you would use in the kitchen to cut meat and vegetables? Something with a sharp point?

CW: Yes.

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TL: Alright, what did she do after you stabbed her? CW: Ah, turned around and looked at me.

TL: Then what? CW: Ran off.

TL: Did you run off ? CW: No, she did.

TL: Alright, do you know where she went? CW: No.

TL: Where was she the last time you saw her? CW: Ah, running across the grass.

TL: Alright, what were the dogs doing? CW: I don’t remember.

TL: Alright, describe the person as you can remember, what does she look like?

CW: I don’t know.

TL: Remember the color of her hair? CW: Blonde.

TL: Blonde hair. Was it long or short? CW: Long.

TL: About how old was she? CW: I don’t know.

TL: Alright, do you know what she was wearing? CW: I believe a white shirt with a blue jean jumpsuit or something like that.

TL: Did you take any property from her? CW: No.

Unknown (U/K ): What direction was she running? Was she running . . . where would you say she was running to? CW: Towards the apartments.

TL: Notice if she had on any shoes? CW: I don’t remember.

TL: Did you see anybody out there immediately after the stabbing?

CW: No.

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TL: Alright, how did you come to spot this woman? Were you driving around or walking?

CW: Driving.

TL: Alright, do you remember what street you were driving on?

CW: No.

TL: Alright, when you saw her, was she just walking her dogs?

CW: Yes.

U/K: Is this a major street or a side street?

CW: It may have been. I’m not sure. It was a wide street, but I don’t think it was a major street.

Ted Thomas (TT): Did you hear her say anything at all? CW: No.

TT: No scream, nothing? CW: No.

TL: Where did you park your car? CW: Ah, across the street.

TL: And immediately after the stabbing you got in your car and drove away?

CW: Yeah.

Jim Ladd ( JL): Earlier, I think you told someone that

. . . right after it happened you got mixed up [and] run the wrong way or something and . . .

CW: Well, I went through some . . . I went across, through some apartments or something and it was the wrong way so I came back around and went out.

JL: So, you actually ended up then, [back at the apartments] is this correct? Tell me if I’m wrong. You actually ran back in through the apartments?

CW: No, I’m at the apartments there and I went this way, then they went up back around . . . one side come back and go out and down about thirty feet to get to my car.

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JL: Could you find this location again? Where this happened at if you were in the vicinity?

CW: If I was there, yeah.

U/K: You could show us where all this did take place at? CW: Uh huh.

TL: Had you ever been there before? CW: No.

TL: Okay.

U/K: Do you remember what you were wearing that night?

CW: Blue coat and blue pants I believe. U/K: Did you have a hat on or anything? CW: No.

U/K: Gloves? CW: No.

TL: Okay, what did you do with the knife? CW: I don’t remember. I threw it away I believe.

TL: Alright, did the knife come from your apartment? CW: Uh huh.

TL: Is it one of a set?

CW: No, it was just a knife I used.

JL: On this occasion here though, did you not wear gloves, is that correct?

CW: No.

JL: Let me ask you this, in the majority of the cases or in most of these did you in fact wear gloves, in some of them and not in some of them or what was the usual for you in such as that?

CW: Sometimes I did and sometimes I didn’t.

JL: Was there any particular reason you didn’t wear gloves this particular night?

CW: No.

*

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After Watts killed Elizabeth Montgomery, he drove about one mile away and came upon Suzi Wolf. One body was not enough.

The following text is the actual interrogation and confession by Coral Eugene Watts in regard to the murder of Suzi Wolf:

Unknown (U/K ): Okay, we were talking yesterday, I believe, in the relationship to this one here where the girl was walking a dog, that happened a short time before a second one happened that same night, is that correct?

Coral Watts (CW ): Uh huh.

Jim Ladd ( JL): On this same night, where the girl was walking her dog, was there another one that happened the same night?

CW: Yes.

JL: Okay, was it nearby or, where in relationship to the first one was the second one that night?

CW: I don’t know exactly where, but I believe it was nearby.

U/K: Okay, tell us what you remember about that one. CW: Well, there was a woman, I think she was driving out of a shopping center. I think it was a white car or something.

U/K: (unintelligible)

CW: Yes. She drove down about two or three blocks and made a right and then I don’t exactly remember too much where she parked at or whatever. She got out and went up through a walkway and I got out and I went up behind her and grabbed and stabbed her.

TL: Remember what store she came out of? CW: I think it was a Safeway store.

TL: Alright, was she carrying anything when she came out of the store?

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CW: One bag. TL: One bag?

CW: Yeah, I believe it was one bag.

TL: Alright, how many times did you stab her?

CW: I’m not sure. About three or four times probably. TL: What area of the body?

CW: I think in the chest and stomach.

TL: Did you use the same knife that you had previously used on that other girl we just talked about?

CW: Yes.

TL: Alright, during this stabbing did you encounter anybody or did anybody see you?

CW: I think there may have been a man somewhere. TL: Do you know where the man came from?

CW: No.

TL: Did you hear him say anything to you?

CW: I just remember somebody saying, “Hey!” I don’t exactly remember what was said.

TL: Do you remember what this girl looked like? CW: No.

TL: About how old she was? CW: No.

TL: Color of hair or how she wore her hair?

CW: I think it was brown, light brown, brownish kind of hair. I’m not sure.

TL: Alright, remember what she was wearing?

CW: I think she had a white coat or white or beige jacket on. TL: Remember what she was wearing below?

CW: No.

TL: Blue jeans, a dress? CW: I think it was a dress. TL: You can’t remember? CW: No.

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U/K: When she got out of the car was she carrying anything?

CW: A bag of groceries.

TL: Did she drop the groceries when you approached her or when you grabbed her?

CW: I think when I grabbed her.

TL: And was she carrying anything else in her hands? CW: Not that I can remember.

TL: Alright, now where did this take place? Was this in an apartment complex?

CW: Yeah, it was an apartment complex.

TL: Do you remember how the apartments were situ-ated or what they looked like?

CW: No, I remember like walking between two apartments then there was set in front of it.

TL: Alright, when you stabbed her, was she standing or what?

CW: On the ground.

TL: On the ground, was she lying on the ground? CW: Uh huh.

TL: Alright.

U/K: If she was lying on the ground, where were you? CW: Over her.

U/K: What do you mean by “over her”?

CW: Just over the top of her. I had her down on the ground.

TL: You were straddling her? U/K: Or were you standing? CW: I’m not sure.

U/K: You don’t remember if you were on the ground with her or if you were . . . ?

CW: I was on the ground with her, I don’t know how I was on the ground with her. I was on the ground with her. TL: What were you wearing that night?

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CW: Blue coat and blue pants. TL: Blue coat and blue pants? CW: Or brown, it was a dark color.

TT: Is this a uniform, these blue coat and blue pants? Is that your uniform?

CW: No.

JL: This night, were you driving your Grand Prix or were you in some other vehicle?