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TN: INMATE ACCUSED OF KILLING PRISON ADMIN, CASE TO GRAND JURY
11-20-2019
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--SUPERS--
Wednesday
Lauderdale County, TN

Trinity Winter
Warden, Women's Therapeutic Residential CTR.

Mark Davidson
District Attorney

--EDITORIAL INFORMATION PROVIDED BY WMC ON 11/20/19--
Kendall Downing/Reporting: "a long day of testimony here in Lauderdale County bottom line a general sessions judge found probable cause to bind this case over to a grand jury"
"I could see Debra laying in the bed"
EMOTIONAL MOMENTS WEDNESDAY AS WITNESSES DETAILED WHAT THEY FOUND WHEN THEY ARRIVED AT PRISON ADMINISTRATOR DEBRA JOHNSON'S HOUSE ON AUGUST 7TH.
WOMEN'S WARDEN TRINITY MINTER - A FRIEND OF JOHNSON'S WAS ONE OF THE FIRST THERE WHEN NOBODY COULD GET A HOLD OF HER.
Trinity Minter/Warden, Women's Therapeutic Residential Ctr.: "I remember the nurse saying to me she has a cord around her neck can I take the cord off. From the time I went in that house i felt like I couldn't leave so I stayed in the doorway."
PROSECUTORS SAY CURTIS RAY WATSON STRANGLED JOHNSON WITH A CELL PHONE CORD AND SEXUALLY ASSAULTED HER.
PROSECUTORS PRESENTED GRAPHIC CRIME SCENE PHOTOS... EVEN CAUSING ONE WITNESS.. A NURSE WHO RESPONDED TO BECOME VISIBLY UPSET.
TESTIMONY REVEALED WATSON WORKED AS A MECHANIC AT THE LAWN MOWER SHOP OF THE WEST TENNESSEE STATE PENITENTIARY IN HENNING.
PRISON STAFF TESTIFIED THEY SAW A GOLF CART AT DEBRA JOHNSON'S HOUSE AROUND 8:30 THAT MORNING AND LATER SAW WATSON, ON THAT GOLF CART, WHO SAID HE WAS CHECKING ON A MOWER HE'D BEEN WORKING ON AT JOHNSON'S HOUSE.
WATSON WASN'T FORMALLY DECLARED MISSING UNTIL AFTER A 10:30 MORNING COUNT.
HE TOOK A TRACTOR TO FLEE THAT WAS LATER FOUND TWO MILES AWAY.
INMATE ZACHARY WEST SAID HE WAS THERE WHEN DEBRA JOHNSON CAME TO THE SHOP A WEEK BEFORE HER MURDER TO GET AIR IN HER TIRES.
HE SAID WATSON TOLD HIM THAT JOHNSON WANTED TO HAVE SEX WITH HIM.
A DIFFERENT INMATE TESTIFIED HE SAW WATSON BEATING ON THE DOOR TO DEBRA JOHNSON'S HOUSE BETWEEN 7:30 AND 8 ON THE MORNING OF HER KILLING.
Mark Davidson/District Attorney: "There are a lot of witnesses in this case it's a very large case as far as evidence and the total amount of witnesses there would be at a jury trial so I think what they tried to do was pare that down for this particular hearing as best they could."
Kendall Downing/Reporting: "It's very common for a priliminary hearing to be waved but prosecutors said because this could be a death penalty case, that is one reason why the defense likely wanted this hearing to take place at length today. Prosecutors have not formally decided on whether they will seek the death penalty in this case. The next grand jury meets in Lauderdale county in February. In Ripley, Kendall Downing, WMC Action News Five."

--KEYWORD TAGS--
TENNESSEE CURTIS WATSON MANHUNT ESCAPEE MURDER CRIME INVESTIGATION

Editorial
Rights Managed
00:02:25
29.97 fps
High Definition
Case of inmate accused of killing prison administrator before 5-day manhunt is headed for a grand jury
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