Evil Eyes (23 page)

Again Judge Shaver overruled her objection.

Dr. Jachimczyk replied, “My opinion is the water used in that fashion would certainly constitute a deadly weapon.”

Jones followed up with a photograph of Lister’s swollen tongue. “Do you have a medical opinion as to why the woman’s tongue could be in that condition if she were placed in a bathtub underwater?”

“In my opinion, that is a result of the lack of oxygen. The individual’s attempt to breathe causes the tongue to protrude and then get caught between the teeth.”

“Is the condition of that tongue on that particular woman consistent with strangulation?”

“Yes, sir.”

“And is it consistent, also, with drowning?” “Yes, sir,” came the doctor’s affirmative reply.

“Pass the witness.” Jones was done with Dr. Jachimczyk.

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Again Burney chose not to question the witness.

Next up on the docket for the state was Houston police detective Jim Ladd.

Ladd was sworn in. He stated that he had worked in the Homicide Division for six years. When asked if he had come to know Coral Eugene Watts, he stated, “Yes, sir, I have.”

“For the record,” Ira Jones stated, “would you please point to him?”

The husky, blond-haired detective looked up to see Watts smiling at him. Nonplussed, the detective pointed a finger at the defendant and said, “The man in the brown coat sitting next to the attorney.”

Jones declared, “May the record reflect this witness identifies the defendant, Coral Eugene Watts.”

The prosecutor continued: “After a hearing with Mr. Watts in which he pled guilty and agreed to a plea bargaining, particularly that he would assist the homicide division with the clearing of certain murders here and around Harris County and other places, were you then assigned to work with Mr. Watts in determining the cause of certain homicides in and around Harris County and other jurisdictions?”

“Yes, sir, I was.”

Detective Ladd began the methodical listing and de-scriptive retelling of the women Watts confessed to murdering, beginning with Jeanne Clyne.

Zinetta Burney, once again, renewed her objection to the questioning. She believed that the hearing “should be for the limited purposes of whether or not he (Watts) has complied with the plea-bargaining agreement.”

Judge Shaver responded, “This is a sentencing hearing and your objection will be overruled.”

Detective Ladd continued the gruesome murderous

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litany of Coral Eugene Watts: Jeanne Clyne, Linda Tilley, Elizabeth Montgomery, Phyllis Ellen Tamm, Margaret Fossi, the attempted murder of Julie Sanchez, the attempted murder of Alice Martell, the attempted murder of Patty Johnson, the murder of Elena Semander, Emily LaQua, Anna Ledet, the assault on Glenda Kirby, the murders of Yolanda Gracia, Carrie Jefferson, Suzanne Searles, Michelle Maday, as well as the attempted murders of Lori Lister and Melinda Aguilar.

Assistant District Attorney Jones asked the detective, “During your investigation, how many murders did Coral Watts admit doing, to you?”

Ladd replied, “Thirteen.” “This is in Texas?”

“Thirteen murders, yes.” The number of murders Watts confessed to committing in Texas was actually twelve.

“How many attempted murders?” “I believe there was five.”

“How many assaults?” “One.”

“Did he rob any of these victims?”

“Not per se of robbing for monetary value. There were times he would take articles, but not to convert to cash.”

“What type of articles would he take?” questioned Jones. “Mostly clothing articles. Every now and then, small articles of jewelry.”

“What would he do with them?” “Burn them or throw them away.”

“Did he tell you why he would take the articles and burn them?”

“Yes, sir. He said he burned the articles, as he would call it, to kill the spirit.”

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“Did he ever sexually assault any of the victims, to your knowledge?”

“Not that we know of,” the detective methodically stated in a hushed tone.

“Had he previously met or had he known any of those victims?”

“No.”

“Totally random strangers?” “Yes, sir.”

“Prior to questioning Mr. Watts,” Jones began to wrap up, “under a plea-bargaining agreement, had you ex-hausted every avenue of investigation to solve each of these cases in Harris County that you have described here today?”

“Yes, sir. These cases and many more.”

“Did you have any lead whatsoever that it would have led you to Coral Eugene Watts?”

“No, sir,” Ladd concluded.

Jones passed the witness to Burney. This time she actually had a cross-examination question. “Officer Ladd, has Coral Watts cooperated with you and the Houston Police Department and the other agencies in every aspect?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Burney excused herself. The state rested. Burney requested that Watts take the stand so as to determine whether or not he understood the parameters of his plea bargain. As Watts walked to the witness stand, the eyes of the gallery ripped through his being. Once Watts took his seat, he merely answered Burney’s questions about whether or not he knew what he was doing in regard to the deal he struck. He sat in the witness chair for less than three minutes. He did not speak specifically of the crimes he was charged with or the murders he confessed to committing.

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Once Watts stepped down and returned to his place behind the defense table, Judge Shaver took over. The judge formally found Watts guilty of the felony offense of burglary of a habitation and that the burglary was committed with the intent to commit murder. The judge also added an additional factor to the charges. He stated, “The court now makes an affirmative finding based upon the evidence produced in that case today that the water in the bathtub and the manner and means of its use in the commission of this offense is and was a deadly weapon.” This addition would have major ramifications on Watts’s good-time provisions.

Judge Shaver directly addressed Watts. “Mr. Watts, do you understand what that means, sir?” Watts looked directly at the judge. “When the court makes an affirmative finding that a deadly weapon was used, that means that the first time you can ever be considered for parole would be after you have done twenty calendar years. Do you understand that, sir?”

Watts simply nodded. “Yes, sir,” he politely responded.

Judge Shaver then took the time to clearly state how he felt about the plea bargain for Coral Watts.

“I’m accepting the recommendation of the DAs office and I want you to understand, Mr. Watts, for the following reasons. The sixty-year sentence that has been recommended by the DAs office is the exact equivalent of the maximum sentence allowed under the law and the only crime—and for the only crime that you are charged with in this court and the only crime that this court has any control over and, sad to say, the only crime the state of Texas has any evidence against you on prior to the im-munization agreements.”

Judge Shaver looked up at Watts and addressed him directly. The annoyance on his face, painfully obvious.

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“The only greater sentence that could have been imposed would have been the death penalty, if you had been successful in your attempt in this offense, and I am thank-ful for the victims, and, but for the grace of God, that you were not. I want you to understand that the sentence I am imposing is not what I believe is an appropriate sentence for you, but it is simply the equivalent maximum sentence under the evidence the state has to use against you.”

The judge also wanted the record to reflect what he felt about the good-time provision. “I also know of no law that mandates that the Texas Department of Corrections gives good time, and I call now, using you as an ex-ample, upon the legislature of the state of Texas and the Texas Department of Corrections to make any necessary changes that they deem appropriate to fit a case such as you in order to see that in certain cases, specifically a case such as yours, that you receive no ‘good time’ credit and that will be the strongest suggestion of this court, and it is my fervent hope.”

Judge Shaver attempted to explain his position. “I understand their reason for having ‘good time’ in the Texas Department of Corrections. The criminologists tell us if it were not for ‘good time’ credit, they could not control their prisoners; that they would have nothing to gain by trying to stay in good standing. As far as I’m concerned, I could care less if you act good or not good.”

Judge Shaver’s verbal spotlight burned brightly as it focused on Watts. “I don’t care if the slightest thing you do is spit on the wall. If you do not act well, it is my suggestion to the Texas Department of Corrections that they put you so deep in the penitentiary, they have to pipe some light into you. And that you serve each and every

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minute of the sixty years that this court is going to assess against you.”

Watts rocked back and forth in his chair as he received the tongue-lashing. He simply shook his head as the judge continued his harangue.

Judge Shaver ordered that a transcript of the sentencing hearing be sent to the Texas Department of Corrections and the Board of Pardons and Paroles. His reason was to make sure that the charges against Watts and his confessions were made a part of his permanent record in case someone got a wild hair and had an inkling of paroling the murderer: “If anyone is ever so foolish, in this court’s opinion, to allow you to walk upon the streets again until you have completed the entire sixty years in the Texas Department of Corrections.”

Judge Shaver concluded, “Therefore, since the death penalty is not available for the only offense before me, I now sentence you to confinement in the Texas Department of Corrections for a term of sixty years.

“Do you have anything else to say, sir, before the sentence of law is pronounced against you?”

Burney interjected, “For the record, Judge, we would like to object to the affirmative finding of a deadly weapon being used. We would like to add that the finding is inconsistent with the pleadings upon which he is charged.”

Judge Shaver retorted, “That will be denied.”

The judge signaled to his bailiff to allow the press to enter the courtroom. In an unprecedented move, Judge Shaver allowed newspaper photographers and television cameramen to shoot the sentencing phase of the Watts trial. A gentleman by the name of Joseph Foy would be watching nearly fifteen hundred miles away in the state of Michigan as the judge turned his attention to the

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defendant, who was standing with his hands in his pants pockets. “Coral Eugene Watts, after having been ad-judged guilty of the felony offense of burglary of a habitation with the intent to commit murder or attempted murder, and after your punishment having been assessed as confinement in the Texas Department of Corrections for not less than five years, nor more than sixty years, you are now ordered to be delivered to the Texas Department of Corrections . . . with the fervent hope of this court and the strongest possible suggestions of this court that every minute of that sixty years for you, sir, is spent behind the walls of the Texas Department of Corrections.

“Mr. Bailiff, you may remove the convict.”

District Attorney John B. Holmes Jr., along with ADA Ira Jones and ADA Jack Frels, held a courthouse-step press conference after the hearing. Holmes took the heat for the plea bargain. He stated that he believed Judge Shaver had taken unfair criticism for the plea bargain. He reit-erated that it was his idea to make the deal.

“I think it is a comfort to know we did have a mass killer on our streets, but we don’t anymore,” declared the mustachioed DA.

Holmes also mentioned that no plea bargain was made in the Emily LaQua case. This information was important in the rare event that Watts actually would ever be released from prison before his sentence ended.

Holmes also expressed his personal belief as to what should have happened to the defendant. “I think Coral Eugene Watts ought to be taken out behind the courthouse and shot in the head. But we don’t do that in a free society.”

When Coral Eugene Watts’s name hit the press, it was a seemingly unusual scenario. Even today, the concept of an African American, or black, serial killer does not seep immediately into the public consciousness. There are several reasons for this. At the top of the list is the glamorization of profilers, such as John Douglas and Robert Ressler.

Profilers are members of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Behavioral Science Unit (BSU) who claim to be able to pinpoint who a serial killer is. Through inter-views of a select group of captured serial killers, Douglas, Ressler (who coined the phrase “serial killer” in the 1970s), and other BSers have tried to narrow down what they believe to be the common traits among serial killers. The most common theories were distilled down to their piquant essence in a September 1984 paper delivered at the tenth triennial gathering of the Interna-tional Association of Forensic Sciences in Oxford, England. The paper, coauthored by Douglas, Ressler, Ann Burgess, and Ralph D’Agostino, detailed the top ten characteristics of serial killers. At the top of the list was the fact that most serial killers were white males.

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In the United States this fact is true, and obvious, based solely on the fact that the vast majority of males in the country are Caucasian. If you dig in a little deeper, the number of black serial killers is severely underexposed.

According to a recent study by California State University, Fresno, professor Eric W. Hickey, approximately 22 percent of all serial killers in the United States are black. All blacks, men and women, make up approximately 12 percent of the United States’ population. Professor Hickey stated that “blacks actually are overrepresented among serial killers.”

Despite these numbers the majority of Americans do not associate serial killing with black men. It is strictly a white man’s disease. The reality, however, is that the epidemic crosses racial lines.