'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Carl Watts, whose alias is Coral Watts, is regarded as the most successful serial killer in the history of the United States. He is thought to have killed dozens of women in several states, such as Texas and Michigan, between 1974 and 1982.
Watts admitted to killing over a dozen women and took police to crime scenes, yet law enforcement officials think that the true number of his victims could be around 100, as reported by CBS News. In contrast to most other serial killers, Watts did not become as well-known to the general public.
Ted Bundy and Jeffrey Dahmer are well-known to many Americans, but Watts is not, even though his crimes were just as serious. According to Andy Kahan, director of Houston's Crime Victims Office, Watts is still dangerous and has said he would kill again if released.
Trending
His killing spree ended with his arrest in 1982. He made a plea deal in Texas, getting 60 years in prison and immunity for several other murders. Due to changes in sentencing laws, he became eligible for early parole, prompting Michigan to bring new charges against him.
Carl Watts's case will be featured in Unknown Serial Killers of America. It will air on the Oxygen network on Sunday, May 18, 2025, at 7 PM EST.
5 shocking details about Carl Watts' crimes
1) He murdered without a motive
Carl Watts was killed for neither money, revenge, nor lust. As cited by CBS News, investigators said that Watts explained that he could see "evil in their eyes" when picking his victims. Most of the murders were carried out without any discernible reason.
Neither did he r*pe his victims, nor did he steal from them. Detective Tom Ladd, the man who took Watts' confessions, said that the murderer habitually picked victims randomly, driving through town late at night. Many times, he killed instantly and left the bodies there, occasionally attacking several women within hours. This lack of motive made his crimes more difficult to anticipate or connect.
2) His victims were chosen at random
As CBS News reports, Carl Watts' victims did not follow any discernible pattern when being chosen by him. His victims were of varying ages, professions, and backgrounds. Some were teenagers, such as 14-year-old Emily LaQua, while others were adults, such as medical student Anna Ledet.
The majority were attacked close to their homes, and they were mostly attacked when they were either arriving or departing. This unpredictability made it hard for police to link the murders.
There were no identical patterns in how the women were assaulted—some were strangled, others stabbed, hanged, or drowned. Due to this, many police forces initially did not recognize they were dealing with a serial killer.
3) Carl Watts received immunity for multiple murders
Carl Watts was arrested in Houston in 1982 following a botched attack during which one of his victims, Melinda Aguilar, escaped and alerted neighbors. The district attorney in Houston subsequently offered him a plea bargain, CBS News reported.
In return for a guilty plea to burglary with intent to commit murder and a 60-year sentence, Watts was immune from prosecution for 12 confessions to murder. Detective Ladd stated that Watts took officials to three shallow graves and provided vivid descriptions of the murders.
He never mixed up the descriptions of one murder with another. Even with the confessions, the immunity agreement prevented Watts from being tried again for those murders.
4) Carl Watts may have killed up to 100 people
While Watts admitted to only about a dozen murders in the Texas probe, authorities think he might have committed many more. There were approximately 90 cases where Watts was still a suspect, according to Lt. Bill Hanger of the Michigan special task force, as reported by CBS News.
Former investigator Paul Bunten said he asked Watts how many he had killed. Watts supposedly answered, "There are not enough fingers and toes in this room." The estimate had estimated up to 80 or more victims. Michigan authorities established a task force to examine unsolved murders after discovering Watts may be released early because of revisions in Texas law.
5) Carl Watts' crimes went undetected for years
Before his arrest, Watts was a suspect in several different cases in multiple states, but never had enough evidence against him to charge him. As a youth, he cycled through psychiatric hospitals. While he was in college, he was a suspect in a vicious stabbing, but was never taken into custody because they lacked evidence, according to CBS News.
He also evaded capture in Michigan in the early 1980s, when a series of murders by the so-called "Sunday Morning Slasher" terrorized police in Ann Arbor. Police tracking ultimately took him to Houston, where his murder spree lasted until his capture in 1982. The sheer volume of jurisdictions and the absence of forensic evidence facilitated his eluding prosecution for years.
Watch Unknown Serial Killers of America on Oxygen for more details about Carl Watts.
