Indianapolis man accused in double murder of teenagers
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - An Indianapolis man accused of killing two teenagers who vanished on Christmas Eve appeared before a judge Wednesday, days after police found a gruesome mix of blood and apparent brain matter outside his home and two bloody trails leading away from it.
The judge entered a not guilty plea for Kevin Watkins, 49, during his initial hearing on two counts of murder in the killings of 16-year-old Satori Williams and 15-year-old Timmee Jackson.
Marion County Deputy Prosecutor Denise Robinson said afterward that authorities are still searching for the teens' bodies. But she said investigators have collected sufficient evidence indicating both are dead and that Watkins is their alleged killer.
"We're confident we can go forward and prosecute," Robinson said, even if the bodies are never found.
She said the investigation is continuing and it is possible others could be charged in the case.
Court documents allege Watkins had suspected that Williams had burglarized his home on Dec. 19 and that his daughter had confronted Williams' girlfriend about that burglary, telling her that Williams "has got another thing coming."
Watkins' attorney, Carl Epstein, declined to comment Wednesday on the charges his client faces.
Kathy Parks-Winfrey, who is the mother of Watkins' 22-year-old son, said she doesn't believe the allegations against him.
"What they're accusing him of, that's not him. He's not the type of person who would kill anyone," she said.
A probable cause affidavit filed with the charges states that Williams' mother searched for him on Christmas morning. She eventually went to Watkins' home, about two blocks from her own, because she knew the teen "was having some trouble" with the people who lived there, it states.
She found "a large amount of blood" on the front steps of Watkins' home and in the grass and leaves in his yard and confronted Watkins, who said he knew nothing about the blood, according to the affidavit.
An officer sent to Watkins' home found that blood and a bloody trail that led around one side of the home and split into two bloody trails that went in different directions before converging behind a nearby vacant home's garage.
Authorities also found blood on the back bumper of Watkins' sport-utility vehicle, its rear doors and throughout its interior, which contained a full garbage bag, a bottle of bleach and rope, the affidavit states.
A human fingertip and bloody clothing apparently matching the clothing the youths had been wearing was found inside the garbage bag and the clothing contained bone fragments and apparent brain matter, according to the affidavit.
A security camera outside the bail bonding business that Watkins, a bail agent, owns captured footage late on Dec. 24 of Watkins parking his SUV in its lot just before another SUV pulls up behind it. The driver of the second SUV exits and shakes hands with Watkins before they drive off separately in the same direction.
Footage from early on Dec. 25 shows Watkins' SUV pulling up near his business, leaving the vehicle while carrying what appears to be a shovel. There, he throws two small bags and some pants into a trash bin, the affidavit states.
Timmee Jackson's 16-year-old sister, Pleasure Jackson, said after Wednesday's hearing that her brother "was at the wrong place at the wrong time" and she hopes his body is found soon.
"I want him to be buried right," she said.