NORRISTOWN, Pa. (KYW Newsradio) — On Day Two of Blair Watts’ trial, prosecutors have begun to lay out what they say was a web of lies he spun to get Jennifer Brown to give him tens of thousands of dollars for a restaurant venture and then to cover up her murder after his plans began to unravel.
They showed body cam video from the police officers who arrived at Brown’s house when she was first reported missing. Watts spoke at length to those officers, in what prosecutors have called his “manipulation in overdrive,” saying the defendant was “pointing fingers in every direction to divert attention from himself.”
In the videos, Watts, 33, tells police that Brown, 43, was addicted to drugs, a claim investigators say was not true. He also led police to believe a neighbor was involved in Brown’s disappearance, but that man was later cleared of suspicion.
Jurors also heard from Watts’ wife and from his girlfriend.
Watts’ wife broke down in tears when prosecutors pressed her on why she lied to police about a second car she and Watts owned. She said she didn’t tell them about the care because it wasn’t properly registered.
Watts’ girlfriend testified that he told her not to tell police about that second car. Investigators allege it was the car used to transport Brown’s body.
Watts’ lawyer, Michel Coard, appears to be building an argument that police tabbed Watts as the main suspect, then found facts to support it, rather than the other way around.
Brown was reported missing on Jan. 4. Watts was the last person to see Brown on Jan. 3. He says he offered to watch her son to give her a break because she was stressed and overwhelmed.
After two weeks of an intense search by authorities, friends and family, Brown’s body was found on Jan. 18, buried behind an industrial building in Royersford.