Richmond County investigators say they have a strong suspicion of who killed Charles Watkins Jr., 48, in 2020, but they lack the hard evidence needed to make an arrest.
“As an investigator, you can think you know exactly what happened and who is responsible, but you have to be able to prove it beyond a reasonable doubt,” said a source in the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office who is familiar with the case but who asked not to be named.
A man who identified himself as Alan Baum placed a 911 call last year on Oct. 23. He reported finding a body in the woods near his girlfriend’s home at 1497 Hephzibah McBean Rd.
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The 911 call log indicates that the dispatcher apologized for being slow and added that they were entering information as fast as possible, to which Baum replied, “It’s okay. He’s not going anywhere.”
Upon arriving on the scene, police found Watkins’ body between 50 and 100 yards into the large, wooded area next to Alexcia Geary’s home. Police quickly determined that Geary was Watkin’s ex-girlfriend.
According to the police report, Watkins had been dead for several days. His body was on its back, and maggots and other insects were visible on his face.
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Investigators found a socket wrench on Watkins’ chest and another wrench with blood on it near his feet, leading investigators to believe initially that the man had been beaten to death, according to the police report.
Investigators questioned both Geary and Baum, the man who discovered the body, and discovered the parties had an unusual living arrangement.
According to the police report, Geary told investigators that Baum was her new boyfriend, and Watkins was her ex-boyfriend, although they had never officially broken up. Watkins and Geary were still living together at the time of his death.
Baum told police that he and Geary were dating but added that they had never had sex or spent the night together. According to the report, Baum also divulged that Geary wanted to have another child and that he was “okay” with Watkins being the father of her potential child because Baum already paid child support and did not want to sire another child.
Geary and Watkins already had one child together, according to the report.
While the two men seemed to have a cordial relationship, the report notes that Baum admitted that he and Watkins got into an argument the day before Watkins went missing.
Geary stated that the last time she had seen Watkins was two days prior when he went into the woods to go camping by himself as he sometimes did to “clear his head.” However, Geary reported that Watkins did not take his rucksack with him when he walked into the woods, according to her testimony at the scene.
Instead, Geary told police that Watkins disappeared into the woods with a socket wrench, a hammock, a plastic bag containing a roll of tape and her cell phone. Geary said she was a bit angry that he took her cell phone rather than his own, the report states.
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Geary told police that two days after Watkins left to go camping, she could smell an odor outside the residence that could have been from a dead animal. She then reported that she called Baum and asked that he search the woods for Watkins.
Sgt. James Tredore, one of six investigators on the scene, noted in his report that even though Watkins’ body was decomposing rapidly, no odor could be detected standing out in front of the residence.
Geary then revealed that Watkins had threatened suicide earlier, stating to her that he had a 12-gauge shotgun and “wanted to blow his head off.” According to the report, Geary said that she did not believe Watkins owned a shotgun and added that he was not seen carrying one into the woods.
Once the body was recovered and sent to the coroner’s office, officials conducting the initial autopsy made a surprising discovery.
Watkins had not been beaten to death as it was assumed; he was killed by a shotgun blast to the head, according to the Coroner Mark Bowen’s report.
It was at that point investigators asked to search Geary’s home and the report states she gave written authorization to allow a search. Inside the residence, investigators found a locked gun safe.
Eventually, investigators were able to open the safe and discovered a Taurus .40 caliber handgun, a Taurus .38 special, a Remington 20-gauge shotgun, a Mossberg 12-gauge shotgun and a Magtech 20-gauge shotgun along with scores of boxes of ammunition.
All the weapons and ammunition were tagged and entered into evidence, according to the police report.
Crime scene technician Rachel Barnard tested all the guns for latent fingerprints and found none.
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Barnard, along with crime scene technician Paige Bellardino, even went as far as to create a makeshift Cyracrylalete fuming chamber to test the Remington and Magtech shotguns, as the report states, because those two weapons were too large for the regular chamber. The fuming chamber is a highly sensitive test that can detect even the lightest of fingerprints, but investigators found no fingerprints.
Baum told police that he and Geary checked the gun safe to make sure none of the guns were missing. The report notes that Geary pulled out a shotgun and handed it Baum, claiming the gun was her “favorite,” so, both of their fingerprints should have been on the weapon.
The detailed report shows Barnard also used “Bluestar,” a chemical that, when sprayed on a surface, will turn fluorescent in the presence of blood.
No blood was found; all the guns were clean, according to the forensic report.
According to Scientific American magazine, every gun has its own “fingerprint,” and the bullets themselves can always be traced from a rifled barrel.
However, shotguns have smooth barrels and shoot out pellets. To find a matching signature, technicians need a spent shell. The forensics report does not list any spent shotgun shells found at the crime scene.
Geary agreed to a polygraph examination, and the detailed police report states that Geary failed the test.
“Alexcia Geary stated that it was not possible because she was telling the truth… Alexcia Geary stated that Charles Watkins Jr. walked into the woods, and that was the last time she saw him,” the report states.
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Earlier in the investigation, Geary told investigators that Watkins had walked into the woods with her cell phone. However, the cell phone was not found at the crime scene. Rather, Geary had the cell phone in her possession.
Geary told investigators that prior to discovering the body, she had called her cell phone using Watkins’ cell phone and heard it ringing out in her yard where she retrieved it, according to the police report.
Shortly after police notified Geary that she had failed the polygraph examination, investigators received a letter from attorney Shawn Merzlak from the Hawk Law Firm stating, “Alexcia Geary will be invoking her right to remain silent and would no longer be cooperating in this investigation.”
Attempts to reach both Baum and Geary by telephone were unsuccessful.
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The final paragraph of the report states, “At this time, there are no additional leads to follow up on. Case is pending.”
To date, no one has been arrested in the murder of Charles Watkins Jr.
Anyone with any information on this case should contact The Richmond County Sheriff’s Office at (706) 821-1020 or The Augusta Press at (706) 834-8677.
Scott Hudson is the Senior Reporter of The Augusta Press. Reach him at scott@theaugustapress.com. Anna Porzio is a researcher and editorial assistant. Reach her at anna@theaugustapress.com.
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