KALAMAZOO COUNTY, Mich. (TCD) — A 38-year-old man recently sentenced for escaping a halfway house stands accused of killing his girlfriend, a mother of eight, who went missing in 2022.
U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan Mark Totten announced Friday, Jan. 12, that a judge sentenced Carlos Watts to 14 months in prison after he cut off his tether and fled a halfway house, where he had been ordered to live for a federal drug and firearm possession conviction. The statement said the Kalamazoo County Prosecuting Attorney also charged Watts on suspicion of Heather Kelley’s murder.
According to the U.S. attorney’s office, Watts was ordered to serve 156 months in federal prison for distribution of cocaine, conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, and possessing a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking in 2013. He was later transferred to the Kalamazoo Probation Enhancement Program (KPEP) halfway house as he was nearing the end of his term.
Prosecutors allege Watts cut off his ankle monitor and escaped the halfway house because he allegedly killed Kelley.
Kelly was last seen on Dec. 10, 2022, when she reportedly left her home and went to the restaurant where Watts was employed. The Kalamazoo County Sheriff’s Office said she spoke with her children on the phone at approximately 10:20 p.m., telling them she would be home shortly, but she was never seen again.
Officials found Kelley’s burned and abandoned vehicle near East Michigan Avenue and North Sprinkle Road with her blood, hair, and other signs of violence inside, according to WWMT-TV.
In an alert posted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, authorities said they obtained “evidence to suggest that she may have been the victim of a homicide.” However, Kelley’s remains have not yet been found.
Police questioned Watts regarding his girlfriend’s disappearance on Dec. 11, 2022, at KPEP, and he cut off his ankle monitor the next day using scissors from a desk at the halfway house.
KPEP alerted police, who later found him at a home in Battle Creek. When officers tried to apprehend Watts, he reportedly barricaded himself inside the residence for hours but eventually surrendered.
Watts reportedly told police he didn’t flee because of Kelley’s death but because he was afraid Kelley’s brother planned to kill him. Her brother allegedly sent Watts death threats and a photo of an AR-style rifle.
Watts will be transported to state custody following his federal sentence. He faces a possible life sentence with or without parole if convicted of Kelley’s murder, according to WWMT.
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