Kevin Watkins’ home had been burglarized and he wanted revenge, according to prosecutors.
The bail bondsman, 51, went “hunting” for the two teenagers he believed were responsible for the thefts and tracked them down, prosecutors said Monday in their opening statements at Watkins’ double murder trial. The boys bodies were later found buried — one in a shallow
grave and the other next to a pond, ABC 6 reported.
But according to Watkins’ lawyer, the break-in at the Indianapolis, Indiana home had put him on edge. The two teens confronted him with a gun while Watkins was patrolling his yard on Christmas Eve in 2015, just days after the alleged burglaries, the news station reported.
Watkins thought he was defending himself when he used a tomahawk to strike the teens in the head multiple times, said defense attorney Jeff Neel, ABC 6 reported. Then he decided to bury the bodies, Neel said.
“Obviously, at this point Kevin was in shock,” Neel said. “He wasn’t thinking clearly.”
When officers went to Watkins’ home on Christmas Day to investigate what was then the disappearance of Dionne Williams, 16, and Timmee Jackson, 15, FOX 59 reported, officers found brain matter and a lot of blood.
There was blood in the backyard, on the seats of his SUV and at Watkins’ bail bond business. the Indy Star said. A bloody wad of duct tape was crumpled inside the trash cans at his home, along with bleach and a rope, according to court documents.
Police found a blood-soaked T-shirt and an Indiana University hoodie, the clothing Williams wore that night, according to an affidavit, the Indy Star said.
Before the teens, who were friends, went missing, Watkins suspected Williams of burglarizing his home, telling police on Dec. 19 that two handguns, a flat screen television and other items had been taken from his home, according to court documents, the Indy Star reported.
Prosecutors said Monday that the theft led Watkins on a quest for revenge — that ended in the murders of two people, ABC 6 reported.
Police didn’t find Jackson’s body until February 2016, FOX 59 said. Williams’ remains were found a few months later, authorities said.