KALAMAZOO, Mich. — Recently released federal court documented say the boyfriend of a missing mother of eight from Portage murdered her hours before he escaped from a halfway house.
Carlos Watts Jr. has not been charged in the disappearance of Heather Kelley, 35, but on Tuesday, the Kalamazoo County Prosecutor’s Office announced it will provide an update on the case at a Wednesday morning press conference.
READ MORE: Prosecutors to deliver update on missing Portage mother Heather Kelley
Kelley’s body has not been found but investigators believe she was killed.
READ MORE: Disappearance of Portage mother of 8 now considered a homicide case
In a memorandum filed on Monday, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Michigan, which charged Watts with felony escape last year, rejected claims made by him in recently written letters to the court that said he ran away from the Kalamazoo Probation Enhancement Program, a halfway house, during his parole because of threats from Kelley’s brother, who is referred as “TK” in the document.
READ MORE: Docs: Boyfriend of missing Portage mom pleads guilty in KPEP escape
Federal prosecutors argued Watts did so to escape prosecution.
“Hours before his escape, defendant was involved in the murder and disappearance of TK’s sister,” wrote prosecutors. “Defendant’s escape from KPEP was not done to avoid a harm from TK, but to avoid the ensuing police investigation. Defendant was escaping criminal liability for murder.”
They added, “Defendant had alternative legal options other than escape if he did feel threatened by TK.”
Watts is scheduled to be sentenced in the case on Friday.
Other documents filed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office allege his ankle monitor went offline for eight hours the night Kelley vanished. Analysts also reportedly found Watts’ DNA on clothing by Kelley’s vehicle, which KCSO found abandoned and burned out a day after she was reported missing.
Prosecutor's Memorandum by WXMI on Scribd
Carlos Watts Jr. Memorandum by WXMI on Scribd
