Rock Star v. Playboy Model: Who Won?
Ezekiel Watkins Butchers Ex-Girlfriend, Saving Her Shoes as a Trophy for New Honey
Tuesday, July 19, 2011 at 7:00 am
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| Ezekiel Watkins stabbed his former girlfriend to death, but kept one of her shoes to present to his new girlfriend as a gift of his triumph |
It's time, thought Watkins, to eliminate this little problem.
On a spring day in mid-April 2010, Chou returned home from a high school field trip. Later in the day, she left her parents' house, saying she was going for a walk.
Two hours later, she still wasn't home, so her dad tried to reach her via cell phone. He soon got back a text message supposedly from his daughter, stating she was at a nearby mall and would soon return.
The text was a peculiar communication, her father would later recall. His daughter had never texted him before. On top of that, she knew well and good that her folks knew nothing about that form of communication.
Most likely the text came from the fingers of Watkins, who had confronted Chou near a wooded area sometime that evening. Away from public view, Watkins knocked Chou to the ground and -- with a knife in hand -- dashed to climb atop his fallen former love interest.
Straddling Chou, Watkins lifted his weapon. But Chou fought back like a banshee and as Watkins attempted to stab her. The knife slipped and Chou was able to slice her attacker.
It would turn out to be a lucky first blow. Watkins retrieved the knife and plunged it into Chou's throat.
Blood exploded from Chou, spilling everywhere. Watkins held his hand tight against her throat until she stopped making noises and moving.
With her dead body stashed in a green covering, Watkins went to friend's house to score a shovel. The man would later say that blood decorated his buddy. Watkins told his chum he needed the tool because his pet duck had died and he'd use the shovel to dig its grave.
From that stop, Watkins soon commandeered his roommate to help him dig a shallow grave. They picked a spot near May Creek Park in Newcastle. When the pair had tired of the hard labor and realized the corpse wouldn't fit into the hole that they'd dug, they decided to break Chou's legs so she would fit.
Before covering Chou with dirt, however, Watkins kept her shoes, perhaps as something of a macabre keepsake.
Police would later learn he had really kept them because he was going to present them to his new girlfriend as a trophy.
After burying Chou, the gravediggers disguised the site with greenery and bailed.
For a year, Chou's disappearance went unsolved. Police had interviewed Watkins, but he had an alibi: He was supposedly with his roommate all night the evening Chou went missing.
But karma being the bitch it is can change many a thing.
The man who lent Watkins the shovel the night he butchered Chou contacted police this summer because he was pissed at Watkins, believing the killer has recently stolen from him.
The shovel owner told authorities they should re-visit their conversation with Watkins' roommate and alibi because he might now have a different story to tell. Which is exactly what he did.
Watkins' alleged accomplice has not yet been charged in the crime. However, Watkins remains in jail on $1 million bail, facing a first-degree murder charge.
Last week, investigators unearthed what they believed was Chou's badly decomposed body. A few days later, dental records confirmed her identity.
See our last story from the Cold Case file: Michael Gargiulo, The Hollywood Ripper, Linked to 1993 Murder of Neighbor Girl.
See our last story from the Cold Case file: Michael Gargiulo, The Hollywood Ripper, Linked to 1993 Murder of Neighbor Girl.
Tags: Rotten Little Bastards, Washington
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