At the age of 12, Coral Eugene Watts confessed to having disturbing dreams about harming and murdering women. His twisted fantasies from childhood foreshadowed a path of perversion and violence. Born in 1953 in Killeen, Texas, Watts later moved to Detroit, where he experienced challenges that impacted his behavior.
By the time he was 15, Watts had already committed his first murder and engaged in numerous sexual assaults. His chilling statement, “There aren’t enough fingers and toes in this room for the number of women I’ve killed,” shocked many. Despite initially showing promise as a football player on a scholarship at Lane College in Tennessee, Watts’s violent tendencies resurfaced, leading to his expulsion for stalking women.
Gloria Steele was the first known victim of Watts, brutally kidnapped, tortured, and murdered. Suspicions also arose regarding his involvement in the killing of Zenaida Tomes. Watts’ disturbing actions culminated in a series of violent attacks on women, causing fear and concern among psychologists who deemed him a significant threat to society.
In Detroit, a string of brutal attacks and murders led to Watts being dubbed the “Sunday Morning Slasher,” targeting slim, blonde, and white women. Victims like news reporter Jeanne Clyne fell prey to his violence, as did others like Shirley Small, Glenda Richmond, and Rebecca Greer-Huff in Michigan. Watts’s killing spree extended across states, leaving a trail of devastation.
Despite his arrest in 1982, it wasn’t until 1990 that the full extent of Watts’s crimes came to light, with him confessing to 13 murders. Sentenced to 60 years in prison, legal loopholes allowed him to receive reduced time behind bars. Eventually, Watts passed away in 2007 due to cancer while serving time at the Ionia Maximum Correctional Facility in Michigan, marking the end of his reign of terror.