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The Sunday Morning Slasher: 5 Shocking Facts About Coral Eugene Watts And The Deal That Almost Freed Him

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Coral Eugene Watts remains one of the most chilling and prolific serial killers in American history, a figure whose estimated victim count far surpasses many of his more infamous contemporaries. As of the current date, the details of his decade-long crime spree across the states of Michigan and Texas continue to be the subject of true crime documentaries and cold case investigations, revealing how a flawed justice system nearly allowed a mass murderer to walk free.

Known by the terrifying moniker "The Sunday Morning Slasher," Watts was a predator who targeted women, often using mundane objects like scissors, knives, or even a tire iron in his brutal attacks. His case is a stark reminder of the complexities and controversies surrounding plea bargaining in serial murder cases, a "deal with the devil" that was only narrowly circumvented by the relentless efforts of law enforcement and victim advocates.

Biography and Profile of Carl "Coral" Eugene Watts

Carl "Coral" Eugene Watts was an American serial killer linked to a staggering number of unsolved murders. While he confessed to 13 killings, authorities believe his total victim count exceeds 100, making him one of the most prolific murderers in U.S. history.

  • Full Name: Carl "Coral" Eugene Watts
  • Nicknames: The Sunday Morning Slasher, The Michigan Murderer
  • Born: November 7, 1953, in Killeen, Texas
  • Died: September 21, 2007 (Age 53), at Foote Hospital in Jackson, Michigan
  • Parents: Richard Eugene Watts and Dorothy Mae Young
  • Span of Crimes: Approximately 1974 to 1982
  • Primary Locations: Kalamazoo, Michigan; Detroit, Michigan; Houston, Texas
  • Method: Stabbing, strangulation, drowning, and bludgeoning, often with makeshift weapons.
  • Confirmed Victims: At least 22, with confessions to 13.
  • Motive: Watts claimed he was driven by "evil eyes"—a belief that certain women possessed "evil eyes" and that he needed to destroy them.

The Terrifying Modus Operandi of The Sunday Morning Slasher

Watts earned his chilling nickname, "The Sunday Morning Slasher," due to his tendency to strike on or around Sunday mornings. His crimes were not confined to a single state; he was active in both Michigan and Texas, demonstrating a high degree of mobility that allowed him to evade law enforcement for years. His victims were primarily young women, and his methods were characterized by their opportunistic and brutal nature.

A Predator Driven by "Evil Eyes"

Watts’s psychological profile revealed a disturbing fantasy life that began in his youth. He reportedly started having vivid dreams of torturing and murdering women around the age of 12. When questioned by police, he offered a bizarre justification for his attacks, claiming he was compelled to kill women he perceived as having "evil eyes." This psychological quirk provided no real pattern for his victim selection, which made him all the more terrifying to the general public.

Unlike serial killers who rely on a specific weapon or ritual, Watts was an opportunistic killer. His weapons were whatever was at hand: ice picks, scissors, knives, or even a tire iron.

Victim Jeanne Clyne, a 35-year-old former Detroit News food writer, was stabbed to death on Halloween in 1979 in Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan. Another early victim, Gloria Steele, was stabbed to death in Kalamazoo in 1974. The sheer number of his attacks, which often involved breaking into homes or ambushing women outdoors, led to a climate of fear in the communities where he operated, particularly in Houston during the early 1980s.

The Controversial "Deal With The Devil" and Near Release

The most shocking chapter in the Coral Eugene Watts saga is the infamous 1982 plea deal, which became known as the "Deal With The Devil." Watts was apprehended in Houston, Texas, after a failed attack on a woman named Melinda Aguilar, who fought back and survived.

However, due to weak physical evidence in the Texas cases, prosecutors feared they could not secure a conviction that would hold up on appeal. In a deeply controversial move, they offered Watts an immunity deal.

The Terms of the Immunity Deal

In exchange for confessing to 13 murders across Texas and Michigan, which helped clear cold cases, Watts was allowed to plead guilty to a lesser charge: burglary with intent to commit murder. He was sentenced to a 60-year prison term in Texas. Crucially, the deal granted him immunity from prosecution for the 13 murders he confessed to, a legal loophole that horrified victims' families and law enforcement across the country.

The director of victim services, Andy Kahan, became a tireless advocate for the victims, fearing the worst. Because of Texas's mandatory release laws at the time, there was a very real possibility that Watts, despite being a confessed serial killer, would be released from prison as early as May 2006.

The Last-Minute Intervention That Saved Justice

Faced with the terrifying prospect of a known serial killer being released, a massive, multi-state effort was launched to find a way to keep Watts incarcerated. Investigators focused on the cases in Michigan, where the immunity deal did not legally apply.

In 2004, authorities successfully charged Watts with the 1974 murder of Gloria Steele in Kalamazoo, Michigan. The key to this new charge was the testimony of his surviving victim, Melinda Aguilar, and the confessions he made under the 1982 deal, which could be used as evidence in a different state's prosecution. Watts was extradited to Michigan and subsequently convicted of first-degree premeditated murder in the Steele case.

This Michigan conviction resulted in a mandatory life sentence without parole, effectively ensuring that Coral Eugene Watts would never be released. He died in prison on September 21, 2007, from prostate cancer, finally bringing a definitive end to the threat posed by "The Sunday Morning Slasher."

The Sunday Morning Slasher: 5 Shocking Facts About Coral Eugene Watts and The Deal That Almost Freed Him
coral eugene watts
coral eugene watts

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