1988-06-30
June 30, 1988 Offense Date
On the evening of June 30, 1988, Vernie McBride and Willie Mae Watson were seen arguing with Gloria Joyce Smith. McBride and Watson lived at the Amarillo motel where Smith worked as a manager.
The couple were behind on rent and facing eviction from their room.[1]
McBride and Watson were seen in Smith's office at approximately 7:00 p.m. and both seemed angry or upset. Half an hour later, McBride and Watson were seen again in the office, but this time, Smith was not to be seen.
An hour later, a motel tenant went to pay his rent at the office and noticed the door was open. Entering the motel office, the tenant saw it was in disarray. He also saw blood spots on the floor and then tried to locate Smith.
Smith's daughter called the office phone around 7:30 p.m. but could not get an answer. Police arrived around 8:30 p.m. and found Smith deceased under a pile of clothing in the laundry room located next to the motel office. Her death was the result of being stabbed with a knife.
Watson and McBride were located in Childress, Texas the next day and charged with the murder of Smith.
Post-Arrest interviews
Following their arrest, Amarillo police interviewed Watson and McBride separately. Watson gave a statement to police that indicated she did not take part in the stabbing of Smith, nor did she participate in the activity aside from trying to stop the murder.
McBride's statement to police was similar in that Watson did not take part in the incident.
Blood samples were taken from both Watson and McBride and sent to the F.B.I. along with all the evidence collected at the scene.
December 1990 Joint Trial
Watson and McBride were tried in a joint trial held in Potter County.
Cousin's testimony
A cousin of Watson testified that the couple came to her house at 11:00 p.m. on the night of the murder. Watson told the cousin that they needed a place to spend the night. After being asked by McBride, the cousin drove them to the motel to pick up the rest of their clothes. As they neared the motel, they saw numerous police cars at the motel.
McBride then instructed the cousin to U-turn and go back to her home, where they went to sleep. When the cousin woke up the next morning, McBride and Watson had left.
Testimony about evidence
Identification officers with the Amarillo Police Department testified about locations of blood spots and hair samples as well as shoe impressions lifted.
F.B.I. agents testified the deceased's blood was found on a quilt stored with Watson and McBride's luggage. The luggage in question was found by police in a neighboring motel room. Blood from Smith was also found on the pants worn by McBride.
A hair and fiber expert testified that hair from Watson's head was found near Smith's body on a sheet that covered the deceased office manager. Another F.B.I. agent testified that Watson's shoe prints were found at where the body was found as well as other places in the office area.
Testimony from Willie Mae Watson
Testifying in her defense, Watson said she had spoken with Smith earlier that morning about past due rent and their impending eviction. The couple tried to put their belongings in another tenant's unit but Smith would not allow them to do so.
Watson and McBride stored their belongings in the unit anyway. As they went to leave the property, Smith beckoned for them to come to the office.
In Watson's testimony, she described how she and McBride told Smith they were storing their things in the tenant's room. Watson walked out of the office and assumed McBride was behind her. He was not.
When she noticed he was not nearby, she returned to the office and witnessed Smith and McBride locked in a physical struggle. Watson testified that she asked McBride to stop and leave Smith alone. She noticed that McBride had a knife and had cut Smith on the neck. She then tried to stop him from harming the woman any further.
In her account, all three individuals wrestled for a while. At one point, Smith was able to escape McBride's grip and ran into the kitchen. McBride was close on her heels and Watson trailed after McBride. After another short bout of wrestling, Watson testified that she ran out of the office.
McBride caught up with Watson about ten to fifteen minutes later. She described how his shirt was bloody.
The pair went to relatives' houses before ending up at the cousin's home. The next morning, they left the cousin's house by 4:00 a.m.
On the stand Watson said McBride did not tell her that Smith had died and she was unaware of the woman's death at the time of her arrest. When law enforcement intercepted them in Childress, they were headed to Fort Worth, Watson said.
However, during the arrest in Childress, police found a knife in Watson's purse. At trial, she explained that she took the knife from her cousin's home the night before. The cousin denied ever seeing the knife before when asked about it at trial.
Watson told the jury that she did not know what happened to the knife McBride used to kill Smith. She also admitted to having the opportunity to call police during the attack, and did not.
Conviction and sentencing
The jury convicted the couple of Smith's murder. Watson was sentenced to 45 years in prison while McBride received a life sentence.
- She was identified arguing with the deceased prior to the murder;
- A knife was found in her purse when she was arrested;
- Petitioner's head hair was at or about the deceased's body and was on the sheet that was covering the deceased;
- Petitioner's shoe prints were at or about the body and in the office area;
- Petitioner testified she took the knife from her cousin's home, but her cousin testified she had never seen the knife before; and
- Petitioner could have called the police during the incident, but did not.
The trial evidence against petitioner has been summarized previously in this report and recommendation. The critical portions of that evidence are set forth below: