In the Summer of 1967, Abilene, Texas, was a growing West Central Texas city where most residents believed violent crime happened somewhere else. Families left their doors unlocked, Dyess Air Force Base brought thousands of military personnel through the community, and investigators still relied on witness interviews and physical evidence rather than modern forensic technology. That sense of security was shattered when 24-year-old department store employee Sharon Kay Watts was found murdered inside the bathroom of her apartment.

After staying home from work because of an illness, Sharon was found dead on September 20, 1967, in a crime scene that immediately puzzled investigators. Her apartment showed no signs of forced entry or robbery, yet she had suffered extensive injuries.

As detectives searched for answers, the investigation was complicated by a mistake surrounding Sharon's autopsy. The resulting controversy limited what pathologists could determine, and left investigators with unanswered questions that would haunt the case forever. Detectives relied heavily on a partial palm print recovered from the bathtub, but in an era before DNA databases and computerized fingerprint systems, every comparison had to be made by hand.

Police interviewed coworkers, neighbors, friends, and numerous persons of interest, including a transient laborer and a man who falsely confessed to the crime. Later, investigators focused on former Dyess Air Force airman after his arrest in Louisiana for a violent crime. But no evidence ever placed him inside Sharon's apartment.

The case went cold, and Abilene moved forward, until another similar crime occurred several years later.

If you have any information about the murder of Sharon Kay Watts, please contact Abilene Crime Stoppers at (325) 676-8477.

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