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NORRISTOWN — The Limerick Township man accused of killing a woman who was his business partner informed a judge that he has decided not to testify at his trial.
Blair Anthony Watts, 33, who is accused of the Jan. 3, 2023, slaying of 43-year-old Jennifer Brown, told Montgomery County Judge William R. Carpenter about his decision during a break at his trial on Monday and out of earshot of the jury of seven women and five men that will determine his fate. Watts indicated he made the decision after consulting with defense lawyer Michael Coard.
Prosecutors were expected to wrap up their case on Tuesday.
Earlier on Monday, a forensic pathologist testified Brown suffered three broken ribs and her death was attributed to “homicide by unspecified means,” with compression and asphyxia.
“It’s more likely her ribs were cracked when her chest was being compressed,” Dr. Ian Hood, who completed the autopsy on the body of Brown, testified as Watts’ trial entered its fourth day.
Hood testified there were no external injuries and no signs of strangulation but that an internal examination showed Brown suffered three broken ribs on her left side.
Testifying for First Assistant District Attorney Edward F. McCann Jr., Hood ruled Brown’s death was “attributed to homicide by unspecified means with compression asphyxia that would account for the fractured ribs.”
During cross-examination of Hood, Coard stressed that Hood was not present when Brown died and can’t know what happened.
Hood said the fractured ribs were not a result of a punch or kick and added, “I wasn’t there so I don’t know the exact mechanism to cause death.”
During Hood’s testimony, prosecutors displayed autopsy photographs of Brown’s rib fractures on a large projection screen for the jury. Beforehand, Judge Carpenter instructed the jury that they should not allow the unpleasant photos to “stir up your emotions” to the prejudice of the defendant.
Watts, of the 600 block of Hunsberger Drive, faces charges of first- and third-degree murder, theft by unlawful taking or disposition and access device fraud in connection with the alleged Jan. 3 slaying of Brown, his business partner and a single mother, who lived in the 1400 block of Stratford Court in Limerick Township.
Brown was missing for two weeks before her body was discovered by police shortly after 11 a.m. Jan. 18 in a “freshly dug hole” at the rear of a warehouse in the 200 block of North 5th Avenue in Royersford after they were alerted to the site by employees of the warehouse, according to detectives.
Underneath Brown’s body detectives found a broken hair clip.
County Detective Terrance Lewis testified that an earlier search of Brown’s home uncovered several broken pieces of a hair clip embedded in a carpet.
“It was a plush-like carpet. We had to feel around on the carpet and we found the pieces,” said Lewis, adding there were no signs of a struggle inside the residence.
County Detective Daniel Cha testified the pieces of the hair clip embedded in the carpet matched the broken hair clip found in the shallow grave with Brown’s body.
During the trial, McCann and Deputy District Attorney Kelly S. Lloyd have argued Watts was a “broke narcissist” and a failed businessman who killed Brown, who invested $22,600 in a proposed restaurant business with him when he feared she was going to expose his lies about his business dealings, specifically that he used her investment monies for his personal expenses.
Lloyd and McCann alleged Watts had a wife and three children to support and a pregnant girlfriend and ingratiated himself in Brown’s life and told her “lie after lie after lie” and killed her and then buried her in Royersford to cover his tracks.
But Coard has argued even if jurors believe Watts is a “broke narcissist” it doesn’t make him a murderer. Coard argued jurors must base their verdict on the evidence.
Prosecutors argued there is a web of circumstantial evidence to link Watts to the crime.
Authorities alleged Watts’ inconsistent statements, cellphone analysis and a cadaver dog’s signaling human remains or human biological material inside two vehicles used by Watts linked him to the murder.
Detectives alleged cellphone analysis showed that between 8:27 p.m. and 8:42 p.m. on Jan. 5, Watts’ cellphone was in the vicinity of where Brown’s body was eventually discovered. Surveillance cameras in the area also depicted a grey Jeep Renegade vehicle linked to Watts “in this same exact area, during the same exact time frame,” detectives alleged.
Additionally, a Philadelphia police officer testified last week that his K9 partner Patton, who is trained to find human remains, searched inside and outside Brown’s home on Jan. 6, several days after she was reported missing.
During the search inside the home, Patton “indicated” the odor of human remains in the kitchen area of the home, testimony revealed.
Patton also searched the exterior of the Stratford Court residence and indicated that human remains or human biological material had been present in the area of a covered structure that housed two trash receptacles.
On Jan. 8, Patton searched the inside of a red Jeep Cherokee vehicle linked to Watts and detected the odor of human remains or human biological material on the floorboard behind the driver seat, according to testimony.
Detectives also seized a floor mat from a second vehicle known to be used by Watts, a grey 2018 Jeep Renegade. During a Feb. 2 search, Patton indicated the presence of human remains or human biological material on the floor mat taken from the rear seat area of that vehicle.
The investigation began on Jan. 4 when Limerick police responded to Brown’s Stratford Court home to conduct a welfare check at the request of Watts, who told police he was a friend and business partner of Brown and had been unable to contact her, according to the criminal complaint filed by county Detective Mark Minzola and Limerick Detective Sergeant Paul Marchese.
Watts, according to testimony and court papers, claimed to detectives that he had last seen Brown at 2 p.m. Jan. 3 when he was at her home.
During the investigation, detectives determined that on Aug. 28, 2022, Brown entered into a business partnership agreement with Watts to invest money in Watts’ restaurant which they were planning to open in Phoenixville by the end of January 2023.
However, when detectives spoke to the owners of the property they learned that the owners had never signed a lease with Watts and no renovation work had been completed on the building by Watts to ready it for a restaurant, according to court documents.
When detectives analyzed the contents of Brown’s electronic devices they found two cash transfers totaling $17,000 to Watts between 4:23 p.m. and 4:35 p.m. on Jan. 3, according to court documents.
Detectives alleged that the $17,000 was never part of a written agreement between Brown and Watts. Authorities alleged that Brown was already dead when those money transfers occurred and that Watts made them using Brown’s computer tablet.
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