Coral Eugene Watts, Who Once Told Police He Killed More Than 80 People, Dies in Michigan Custody
Watts died a little more than a week after receiving a second life sentence in Michigan. A 1982 Texas deal had given him immunity for killings he confessed to.
Published
Coral Eugene Watts once told police he had murdered more than 80 people, yet for decades he was imprisoned only for lesser crimes. On September 21, 2007, he died at Foote Hospital in Jackson, Michigan, aged 53.
The apparent cause of death was prostate cancer, said Russ Marlan, a spokesman for the Michigan Department of Corrections. Watts died a little more than a week after receiving a second life sentence, for the 1974 killing of a Western Michigan University student. In Kalamazoo, he had been charged with first-degree murder in the October 1974 stabbing death of Gloria Steele. In 2004, he had been convicted of first-degree murder for a 1979 killing in the Detroit suburb of Ferndale.
Under a 1982 deal with Texas prosecutors, Watts received immunity for the Houston-area murders he confessed to and pleaded guilty to burglary with intent to commit murder, for which he received 60 years.
The Los Angeles Times said Watts received immunity for 12 killings he confessed to under the 1982 deal, while the Dallas Observer reported that he confessed to 13 murders under it.
Sources
- People of the State of Michigan v Coral Eugene Watts, No. 266959 (unpublished per curiam opinion), Michigan Court of Appeals
- Coral Eugene Watts, 53; murderer claimed he had killed 80, Los Angeles Times
- Evil Eyes, Dallas Observer
Related News
- November 17, 2004: Michigan Jury Convicts Coral Eugene Watts of 1979 Murder, Keeping Him From Release in Texas