Coral Eugene Watts: The Sunday Morning Slasher
Confessions
After learning about the move, Bunten sent copies of Coral's criminal files to Houston police in the hopes of preventing more murders. The police were able to locate Coral, yet they were unable to directly link him with any criminal activity. However, he was the main suspect in several murder cases. Investigators just didn't have enough evidence to tie him to any murder.
According to Pam Easton's November 2002 Associated Press article, Houston police homicide Sgt. Tom Ladd claimed that it was difficult building a case against Coral because, "he used different methods to kill, never sexually assaulted his victims and chose strangers." He further stated that there was rarely evidence left behind at the scenes because he "killed within minutes of encountering his victims." Following the attack on Lori Lister and Melinda Aguilar in May 1982, Harris County Assistant District Attorney Ira Jones came up with an idea that would prompt Coral to confess to the crimes of which he was suspected.
Whitley reported that on August 9, 1982, Jones offered Coral a deal. In exchange for information and murder confessions, Coral would get immunity for murder. Coral agreed and several days later he took investigators to the burial sites of three of his victims. According to the Associated Press Online article, Serial Killer's Confessions, Coral eventually admitted attacking 19 women, 13 of which he murdered.
Coral told police that he was responsible for the 1979 Detroit murder of Jeanne Clyne, although he did not admit to killing area residents Glenda Richard, Shirley Small or Rebecca Huff, whose dictionary was found in his car. He was more forthcoming about his Houston victims. He confessed to drowning University of Texas student Linda Tilley, 22, in her apartment complex swimming pool in September 1981. He also admitted to stabbing to death Elizabeth Montgomery, 25, one week later.
On the same day Elizabeth was murdered, Coral confessed to killing another woman just a few miles a way. Werner stated that his cousin Susan Wolf, 21, was returning home from getting ice cream from the grocery store when she was stabbed to death in the arm and chest several feet from her apartment. Coral admitted to another murder that occurred in January 1982, that of Phyllis Tamm, 27, who was attacked as she jogged. Coral claimed that he choked her with his hands and then hung her to a tree branch with an elastic strap.
Almost two days later, Coral murdered architecture student Margaret Fossi, 25, who apparently died from a blow to the throat. Her body was found in the trunk of her car at Rice University. Coral said that he took her shoes, the blueprints she was carrying and her purse and burned them. Interestingly, Coral often stole items from his victims and burned them, hoping to "kill the spirit." He claimed that the reason he committed the murders was because the women had "evil eyes."
According to the Associated Press, Coral told police that he slashed the throat of a woman trying to change a flat tire on the side of the freeway. That same month, Coral claimed to have attacked two other Houston area women, one whose throat was also slashed and the other who was stabbed with an ice pick. Amazingly, all three women managed to survive the gruesome attacks.
Between February and May 1982, Coral confessed to the murders of Elena Semander, 20; Emily LaQua, 14; Anna Ledet, 34; Yolanda Gracia, 21; Carrie Jefferson, 32; Suzanne Searles, 25, and Michele Maday, 20. Moreover, he admitted to attacking three other women. Despite his confession Coral was never charged for any of the murders because of the bargain he struck.
Hewitt, Stewart and Cosgriff wrote that Coral admitted to at least 80 more murders in Michigan and Canada. However, he didn't give investigators the details of any of the crimes because he was not granted immunity for them. In the end, Coral's strategy to receive the lightest possible penalty for his crimes worked for him.
In court, Coral pled guilty to one count of burglary with intent to kill, just as he bargained for. He eventually received 60 years in a penitentiary. Kurth stated that before Coral left for prison he told an investigator "You know, if they ever let me out, I'll kill again."