Beaten, stabbed, buried.
Little Jerry (13) didn’t stand a chance against his killer, who was five years his senior and much stronger. Now, 37 years after the murder, justice is being done for the boy who was killed.
As US media reports, David Adams (56) finally confessed to the crime. That’s why the man from Preston County (West Virginia) is currently in prison on bail set at $1 million.
Flashback, fall 1985: Hurricane Juan hits the American mainland, causing severe flooding even in West Virginia. The storms, which went down in collective US memory as “killer floods”, killed 62 people.
On November 12, the water releases the body of Jerimiah Watkins. It quickly becomes clear: Jerry was the victim of a murder. The 13-year-old has a stab wound on his back.
Bad luck for the investigators at the time: the masses of water washed away important evidence. And so the capital crime went unpunished. Until now!
David Adams (56) has to answer for murder in court
► The authorities have not revealed how the police found out about David Adams. One thing is clear: When questioned about the cold case, the 56-year-old first got involved in contradictions, then he admitted to the murder.
Before the crime, there had been an argument about a stolen bike. It is not known who stole the bike from whom. According to Adams, he struck over the handlebars and dragged the boy into a shed, where he stabbed him. He buried the body in a hole.
The sheriff’s office wrote in a press statement: “In the 37 years since the assassination, countless agencies and organizations have contributed to this investigation. May you rest in peace at last, Jerry.”
US authorities were only recently able to solve another cold case: almost 50 years ago, Steven Criss (65) killed two teenagers. Unbelievable: The man with the conspicuous whiskers had already been in prison for murder. Read the whole story here.