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Hidden Brutality: Life of Serial Killer Carl Eugene Watts
Brutality, sadism, remorselessness…Just a need to kill. This is Carl Eugene Watts, the Sunday Morning Slasher Download FREE with Kindle Unlimited What turns a man into a killer? America has become the undoubted home of the mass-murderer, playing host to many of the most famous villains in history. From John Wayne Gacy to Jeffrey Dahmer, thousands of people have fallen victim to some of the evilest men in history. So horrible are many of these crimes, that the events themselves can become blurred. Often, we overlook some of the most hideous crimes. There are legions of forgotten serial killers, people whose sadism and brutality is relegated to a footnote. This is one of those stories. Carl Eugene Watts, Coral to his friends, was a serial killer during the latter stages of the Twentieth Century. His crimes are forgotten by the mainstream, but he may have had a hand in the murder of over a hundred women. Stalking around Michigan and Texas during the 1970s and 1980s, his family had no idea of his true nature. His friends and associates had no clue. Behind the mask of normalcy hid one of the country’s most brutal killers. In this book, we will examine the life and crimes of Coral Watts. We will learn about his background, about his history, and try to explore the reasons he might have strayed so far from the beaten path of humanity. We will look in detail at some of his crimes, especially those which formed the basis of his conviction, and try to extrapolate some greater meaning from these random acts of violence. Nicknamed the Sunday Morning Slasher, Coral Watts would prove to be one of the most vicious killers in American history. Read on your Kindle, IPhone, IPad, Android Cellular phone, tablet, laptop or computer with Amazon's free Kindle reading App. Scroll back up and click the BUY NOW button at the top right side of this page for an immediate download!
106 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 23, 2016
110 people are currently reading
109 people want to read
About the author
Jack Smith
51 books27 followersBiographer and recorder of the history of serial killers
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
November 5, 2017
Finally, another book on my old nemesis, Coral Eugene Watts. This was a very quick read but it included details I've never seen before about the murders he may (or may not) have committed. I have serious reservations about this one because there were quite a few obvious mistakes, e.g. when he said that 'George Harrison' was the mass murderer who opened fire on the customers at 'Lucy's Cafeteria' -- dude, it was George Hennard at Luby's Cafeteria -- and that tends to throw doubt on everything else he said. There were other clear mistakes in his biography of Watts. But if other details he provided turn out to be correct, I can come away from this read with a little more insight into why the police might consider Watts a suspect in certain other killings. I also learned more about the joint police investigation into these cases, and that information was serious food for thought. I recommend this one.
November 29, 2017
This book is good
October 9, 2016
The man who loved to kill
Carl Eugene Watts at age 15 attacked a customer on his paper route. We don't know if this was his first. He didn't rob or rape his victims-- he killed them, or attempted to.
The number of his victims is unknown, and law enforcement couldn't put together enough evidence to arrest him, so he just kept on killing.
Carl Eugene Watts at age 15 attacked a customer on his paper route. We don't know if this was his first. He didn't rob or rape his victims-- he killed them, or attempted to.
The number of his victims is unknown, and law enforcement couldn't put together enough evidence to arrest him, so he just kept on killing.
December 7, 2017
I had never heard of Carl (Coral) Watts until watching the show "I Survived". A woman who encountered Watts and survived mentioned that he was a serial killer who had killed more than Dahmer, Bundy and Gacy combined. That peaked my curiosity and I knew I needed to learn more about him. This was a nice, short biography.
July 14, 2017
A rarity, very few black serial killers.
Wow!!! This guy was slick. He got away with so many murders, before someone in law enforcement caught on. This was before the Internet, mostly.
Wow!!! This guy was slick. He got away with so many murders, before someone in law enforcement caught on. This was before the Internet, mostly.
March 15, 2023
This book shows how difficult it was to catch and convict serial killers before the age of digitized records and forensic evidence. Carl Eugene Watts (aka Coral Watts) was a strange child. As a teen, he spent time in a mental hospital. Once, he attempted suicide. In Michigan, it was known that he attacked and assaulted several women.
However, before the Internet and digitization, records were kept in folders and were often placed in dusty cabinets. There was no way to cross-reference previous cases. Police departments operated independently and did not communicate with each other. With forensics in its infancy, random killings were very difficult to solve.
When things got too hot in Michigan, Watts moved to Texas. He worked in various jobs in Houston and started killing again. When Watts was finally apprehended, he was offered a plea bargain. If he pled guilty to twelve murders, he would be charged with burglary with intent to murder. This would get Watts off the streets for sixty years. Watts accepted the deal because Texas was (and is) a state with the death penalty.
However, Watts was categorized as a nonviolent felon in the appeals court, making him eligible for release in 2006. The police in Michigan moved to overdrive to find someone to convict Watts of murder. Joseph Foy, who saw Watts kill Helen Mae Dutcher, testified at the trial. Watts was found guilty of murder.
Watts died of prostate cancer a few months after that trial. Watts is considered to be one of the worst serial killers ever. Over ninety cases are attached to his name, but Watts never admitted to the lives he snuffed out in Ann Arbor, Detroit, and Houston, TX. Because I lived in Houston then, people were relieved when Watts was convicted.
The author, Jack Smith, has an eye for the story but needs to refine his style. He needs to give more dates to allow the reader to understand the story's progression. He may say, "In November," but what year? While I was trying to establish a crime time frame, it was hard to follow the author's information. Overall score = G+.
However, before the Internet and digitization, records were kept in folders and were often placed in dusty cabinets. There was no way to cross-reference previous cases. Police departments operated independently and did not communicate with each other. With forensics in its infancy, random killings were very difficult to solve.
When things got too hot in Michigan, Watts moved to Texas. He worked in various jobs in Houston and started killing again. When Watts was finally apprehended, he was offered a plea bargain. If he pled guilty to twelve murders, he would be charged with burglary with intent to murder. This would get Watts off the streets for sixty years. Watts accepted the deal because Texas was (and is) a state with the death penalty.
However, Watts was categorized as a nonviolent felon in the appeals court, making him eligible for release in 2006. The police in Michigan moved to overdrive to find someone to convict Watts of murder. Joseph Foy, who saw Watts kill Helen Mae Dutcher, testified at the trial. Watts was found guilty of murder.
Watts died of prostate cancer a few months after that trial. Watts is considered to be one of the worst serial killers ever. Over ninety cases are attached to his name, but Watts never admitted to the lives he snuffed out in Ann Arbor, Detroit, and Houston, TX. Because I lived in Houston then, people were relieved when Watts was convicted.
The author, Jack Smith, has an eye for the story but needs to refine his style. He needs to give more dates to allow the reader to understand the story's progression. He may say, "In November," but what year? While I was trying to establish a crime time frame, it was hard to follow the author's information. Overall score = G+.
October 5, 2023
“Nicknamed ‘the Sunday Morning Slasher,’ Coral Watts would prove to be one of the most vicious killers in American history.”
Born in Killeen, Texas, in 1953, Carl became known by the nickname of Coral.
Abrupt moves to Virginia and Detroit, abandoned by Coral’s father. Coral developed his love of hunting on his numerous back-and-forth stays with his grandmother back in West Virginia.
Though he suffered long-term effects from severe cases of both meningitis and polio, Coral was a strong athlete. Skilled in football, baseball, boxing, and track and field events.
Begins attacking white women at age 15.
As a young man, going around random apartment complexes…knocking on doors…asking for “Charles” and wanting to know “where Charles is at.” Super creepy.
Most of the women he preyed upon “fitted the same description: mostly young, thin, and generally attractive white women.”
A suicide attempt fails. Asks doctors how he can avoid getting caught as a killer—while in the mental institution…
Coincided with Detroit’s population boom, and the increased violence there. Becomes known as “the Sunday Morning Slasher” for his early morning attacks.
He didn’t rape or rob. He just killed because…he enjoyed it. Coral eventually escalated to decapitations.
Claimed to only have come committed 40 murders; the authorities suspect that this figure is much closer to 90.
He catches wind of the authorities, and flees back to Texas. Apprehended after yet another murder spree, this time in Houston.
Died of prostate cancer, while incarcerated, in Michigan in 2007.
Born in Killeen, Texas, in 1953, Carl became known by the nickname of Coral.
Abrupt moves to Virginia and Detroit, abandoned by Coral’s father. Coral developed his love of hunting on his numerous back-and-forth stays with his grandmother back in West Virginia.
Though he suffered long-term effects from severe cases of both meningitis and polio, Coral was a strong athlete. Skilled in football, baseball, boxing, and track and field events.
Begins attacking white women at age 15.
As a young man, going around random apartment complexes…knocking on doors…asking for “Charles” and wanting to know “where Charles is at.” Super creepy.
Most of the women he preyed upon “fitted the same description: mostly young, thin, and generally attractive white women.”
A suicide attempt fails. Asks doctors how he can avoid getting caught as a killer—while in the mental institution…
Coincided with Detroit’s population boom, and the increased violence there. Becomes known as “the Sunday Morning Slasher” for his early morning attacks.
He didn’t rape or rob. He just killed because…he enjoyed it. Coral eventually escalated to decapitations.
Claimed to only have come committed 40 murders; the authorities suspect that this figure is much closer to 90.
He catches wind of the authorities, and flees back to Texas. Apprehended after yet another murder spree, this time in Houston.
Died of prostate cancer, while incarcerated, in Michigan in 2007.
March 12, 2025
This is one of the better written books from Jack Smith.
Having lived near Houston during Coral Watts reign of terror, and one of those murders happening too close to where I lived, I was surprised to find out that he was in Michigan before his time in Texas. More history in this book than in a lot of others.
I cut my teeth on Ann Rule’s true crime books and have a hard time getting into the way a lot of the true crime writers write.
Jack Smith is one of the few that I can get through without feeling too cheated.
Having lived near Houston during Coral Watts reign of terror, and one of those murders happening too close to where I lived, I was surprised to find out that he was in Michigan before his time in Texas. More history in this book than in a lot of others.
I cut my teeth on Ann Rule’s true crime books and have a hard time getting into the way a lot of the true crime writers write.
Jack Smith is one of the few that I can get through without feeling too cheated.
September 22, 2020
The Sick Man
Carl was one sick man . I love true crime and I've read alot of true crime books in my life and this one will be stuck in my head. I am very glad that I found Jack Smith and started reading his books , dang that man can write well.
Carl was one sick man . I love true crime and I've read alot of true crime books in my life and this one will be stuck in my head. I am very glad that I found Jack Smith and started reading his books , dang that man can write well.
October 22, 2021
A must if you like Forensic Files
It was shocking and sad to read of this little known serial killer who could have been stopped so much earlier. A prime example of how the system failed him and his victims
It was shocking and sad to read of this little known serial killer who could have been stopped so much earlier. A prime example of how the system failed him and his victims
June 19, 2023
Informative
The author does a great job at giving all the information, but at times the narration feels monotone and like it drags. I do enjoy learning about plenty of serial killers that I haven't heard of before
The author does a great job at giving all the information, but at times the narration feels monotone and like it drags. I do enjoy learning about plenty of serial killers that I haven't heard of before
April 5, 2020
very poor writing style
May 5, 2022
Juvenile writing.
I couldn't get past how badly this was written. The story was there but the poorly expressed way it was write was too distracting.
I couldn't get past how badly this was written. The story was there but the poorly expressed way it was write was too distracting.
April 21, 2025
Sad 😭!!! Somedays I wonder what people like these r really thinking and How they can so quickly take someone's life and don't care.
October 16, 2016
A good general overview of the case. Certainly not the real in depth study that many like, but an informative enough book for lovers of true crime.
November 24, 2016
Wow
He was a sneaky one. Stuff nightmares are made of! Great writing and great details. I will read more of Jack Smith's books.
He was a sneaky one. Stuff nightmares are made of! Great writing and great details. I will read more of Jack Smith's books.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews