Ripley, Tenn.—At a day-long preliminary hearing in Lauderdale County Court this week, the case against accused murderer Curtis Ray Watson was bound over to the grand jury.
Watson escaped from the West Tennessee State Penitentiary in Henning in August and is accused of sexually assaulting and killing a corrections administrator who lived on the prison grounds. Watson, who has a criminal record in Henry County, evaded law enforcement for five days until he was caught by Henry County Sheriff’s deputies and K9 Rowdy as Watson jumped out of a beanfield.
Watson was already serving a 15-year sentence for especially aggravated kidnapping.
He is charged with first-degree murder and aggravated sexual battery in the death of Administrator Debra Johnson. After hearing testimony from prison officials, inmates and law enforcement about the details surrounding Johnson’s death and Watson’s escape, the judge found there was probable cause to believe Watson sexually assaulted and murdered Johnson and the case was bound over to the grand jury.
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