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AUBURN, Ala. (TCD) — A grand jury recently indicted a 53-year-old nurse in connection with the drowning death of his malnourished son last year.
The Auburn Police Department announced Tuesday, Jan. 30, that Mark Watford was charged with felony murder in connection with his son’s death. Watford was initially charged with aggravated child abuse, but the grand jury indictment upgraded the severity of the crime. The arrest comes a little over six months after his wife, Kelly West Watford, was arrested on suspicion of murder.
On June 14, 2023, the Auburn Police Department, Auburn Fire Department, and Emergency Medical Service personnel responded to the 2200 block of Core Drive, where they found an unresponsive 6-year-old boy, identified by WRBL-TV as Sullivan Watford. Medical personnel began lifesaving measures before the child was transported to East Alabama Health and later died.
Police learned of “suspicious circumstances” surrounding the child’s death and obtained evidence suggesting the boy had drowned.
The victim, who appeared severely malnourished and weighed approximately 21 pounds, reportedly suffered “willful abuse and maltreatment” for an extended period of time. According to WRBL, the boy’s low weight hindered his ability to walk or sit up on his own.
Kelly Watford reportedly told officials she treated her son’s cough with vapor rub but had never used that kind before. Watford, who worked as a licensed counselor, said her son went unconscious while she was bathing him, and she believed he died from an allergic reaction, WRBL reports.
An autopsy later showed the boy drowned, and fluid reportedly traveled into the top of his nasal cavity and into his lungs. The Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences conducted a final postmortem examination and submitted the additional evidence to police.
According to WRBL, Auburn Police took photos of Sullivan Watford shortly after his death, and Judge Russell Bush stated they are “like nothing he has ever seen outside of Holocaust documentaries.”
Officers took Mark and Kelly Watford into custody. Kelly Watford was charged with felony murder and booked into the Lee County Jail without bond.
Mark Watford was arrested on an initial charge of aggravated child abuse but posted $30,000 bond and was released. Mark Watford remains held in the Lee County Jail without bond.
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