At the young age of 12, Coral Eugene Watts confessed to having disturbing fantasies about harming and murdering women. By the time he turned 15, he had already committed his first murder. His twisted childhood dreams paved the way for a life filled with depravity and violence.
Born in Killeen, Texas, in 1953, Watts later moved to Detroit during his childhood, which seemed to unsettle him. After contracting meningitis around the age of nine, his family noticed a significant shift in his behavior.
By the age of 15, Watts had already carried out his first murder and a series of sexual assaults. A homicide detective recalled a chilling statement from Watts, claiming that he had killed numerous women. Despite a troubled past, Watts secured a spot at Lane College in Tennessee on a football scholarship, hoping to turn his life around through sports. However, his dark fantasies soon consumed him.
Despite his success as a football player, Watts was expelled from college within three months for stalking women. He returned to Michigan, where he began a horrifying spree of violent attacks on women.
His first known victim, Gloria Steele, was brutally kidnapped, tortured, and murdered in 1974. Watts was suspected of being involved in the killing of Zenaida Tomes in 1972, who was brutally stabbed multiple times. When apprehended for several assaults, psychologists expressed concerns about Watts’ unstable mental state and future behaviors.
In 1976, a string of brutal attacks and murders in Detroit led to Watts being dubbed the Sunday Morning Slasher by local media. His victims, mostly slim, blonde, and white women, included Jeanne Clyne, a news reporter who was fatally stabbed in front of her home.
Watts continued his killing spree, taking the lives of Shirley Small, Glenda Richmond, and Rebecca Greer-Huff in Michigan before fleeing to Texas to avoid capture. Melinda Aguilar and Lori Lister were attacked in 1982, but Aguilar managed to escape, aiding in Watts’ eventual capture. Michele Maday was also murdered by Watts on the same day.
Despite being caught in 1982, it wasn’t until 1990 that Watts was recognized as a serial killer with multiple victims. He confessed to 13 murders and was initially sentenced to 60 years in prison, later reduced to 24 years due to a legal technicality. Watts passed away in 2007 from cancer while serving his sentence at the Ionia Maximum Correctional Facility in Michigan.