waunakeegan
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Shelly Lou Salter Watkins was a 36-year-old mother to two young daughters, socialite, and wife and that lived in Corsicana, TX. On Sept. 13, 1993, Shelley’s body was discovered by fishermen in the Trinity River just west of Seven Points, TX. Her body was found wrapped in black trash bags and bound with gray duct tape. Shelley was clothed but weighted down with two cement blocks and secured with chains. The coroner’s office could not determine her cause of death due to decomposition, but they apparently ruled out strangulation.
She was last seen publicly on September 6, 1993, at a family gathering in the Ruth Springs addition, which is located near the Key Ranch Estate on Cedar Creek Lake. She was reported missing by family members but not immediately.
In Dec. of 1993, Shelley’s husband, Jerry Mack Watkins, was indicted for her murder and pled not guilty at his arraignment the following February. In July of 1994, news surfaced that the Henderson County District Attorney E. Ray Andrews had attempted bribery in the state’s case against Jerry Mack Watkins, offering to make the case disappear for the right price. Andrews eventually admitted the attempted extortion and resigned from office. The charges against Jerry Mack Watkins were dismissed and the file at the Henderson County District Clerk’s office states the case was dismissed due to ‘insufficient evidence.’
The case is still open and unsolved to this day.
One that got away: Unsolved Watkins murder case still haunts retired Henderson County Sheriff
So many questions, few answers
23-year-old murder mystery haunts Cedar Creek Lake
