Dateline: A complete timeline of David Watson’s crimes and conviction, explored

Dateline has brought a lot of attention to the troubling case of David Watson, a former Tucson Fire Department captain whose story has garnered nationwide attention.

The case involves the tragic deaths of three women and spans several years of investigation, controversy, and trial following that. Linda Watson vanished in 2000, and investigators later connected her disappearance to two more murders that occurred three years later.

The story unfolded through meticulous detective work, forensic analysis, and courtroom drama, ultimately leading to Watson's imprisonment.

The case has taken unpredictable turns, including a recent confession from Illinois inmate that Watson's family believes proves his innocence. Yet prosecutors remain stiff in their conviction.

The timeline reveals how a missing individual case evolved into a triple murder investigation. This raised serious concerns about motive, evidence and justice. Analysing the sequence of events helps clarify how authorities built their case and why this incident continues to generate debate even years after the conviction.

2000: Linda Watson Disappears

Linda Watson disappeared under mysterious circumstances in August 2000. She left behind unanswered questions and her young daughter. She was last seen alive at her home and her car was found abandoned later with no immediate signs of foul play.

Investigators initially treated it as a missing person case. Family members reported her disappearance quickly while expressing their fear that something terrible had happened to her.

David Watson, her strange husband became a suspect early in the investigation. The couple was going through a rough patch and were in the process of getting a divorce at the time of her disappearance. Detectives interviewed him several times. However, without a body or actual evidence of a crime, the case was closed. And years passed with no resolution for Linda's family.

2003: Two more murders shake the community

In September 2003, tragedy struck all over again when Renee Farnsworth and Marilyn Cox were found dead. Farnsworth was a close friend of Cox's, and Cox was Linda's mother. Both women were discovered in Cox's house in Tucson. They had been shot to death. The brutal nature of the crime sent shockwaves among the investigators and the neighbourhood.

Detectives immediately questioned whether these murders were connected to Linda's disappearance three years earlier. The timing seemed too coincidental as both had maintained that David Watson was responsible for Lind's disappearance. They had been vocal about their claims. This made them potential witnesses in any future case against him.

Dateline: Investigation develops the case

Forensic teams collected evidence from the crime scene. Shell casing and ballistic evidence were used to analyse. Investigators interviewed several witnesses. They scanned David Watson's movements during all three time periods. Additionally, financial records were checked along with the scrutiny of phone records.

The investigation took years as detectives developed their case piece by piece. Prosecutors believed David Watson wanted to avoid an expensive divorce and potential custody battle. They also came up with a theory that he killed Farnsworth and Cox to eliminate witnesses who suspected him. The circumstantial evidence started to stack up. In 2015, Watson was at last arrested and charged with all the murders.

2017: Trial and Conviction

David Watson's trial began in 2017. Dateline covered the proceedings extensively, highlighting both the prosecution's evidence and the defence's arguments.

The prosecution presented testimony about Watson's chaotic marriage and his behaviour after Linda's disappearance. They argued that the murder of her mother and friend was an attempt to silence those who knew too much.

The defence was firm on proving Watson's innocence throughout the trial. They questioned the lack of direct physical analysis. However, the jury found the cumulative evidence strong. Watson was convicted of all three murders. The judge sentenced him to life in prison with no parole.

Also See: Dateline: The Trouble in Bardstown - 5 harrowing details about Crystal Rogers' disappearance, revisited

Ongoing developments surrounding the controversy by Dateline

In recent years, Corey Fox, an inmate in Illinois, sent a letter confessing to the killing of Linda Watson. Fox admitted that he knew details about the crime that only the killer would know. Watson's daughter, Jordynn, has fought tirelessly to reopen her father's case.

Brad Roach from the Pima County Attorney's Office investigated Fox's claims and later dismissed them.

"Somebody who has unlimited time, as he does sitting in prison, and access to a computer, can find all the details."

Jordynn Watson disagrees strongly and argues that Fox knows things that never went public. She stated

"The location he describes, burying the body, matches where her skull was found."

The argument continues as Watson's legal team reviews the evidence. Dateline has followed these investigations while presenting both sides of the ongoing controversy.

Dateline continues exploring this complex case as new information emerges about truth and justice in the Watson conviction.