A Caddo Parish jury found Shreveporter Dewayne Willie Watkins guilty Wednesday, September 14, 2022, in the 2018 kidnapping and first-degree murder of a Shreveport couple.
Watkins, 37, kidnapped, robbed and then killed Heather Angela King Jose, 32, and her husband, Kelly Dean Jose, 43, on November 8, 2018. The two were found burned beyond recognition in a vehicle in the carport of a vacant home in the 3400 block of Penick Street in the Queensborough neighborhood. Watkins was arrested several days after the slayings following a six-hour standoff with police.
The 12-person jury in District Judge John D. Mosely Jr.’s courtroom heard testimony over nine days and returned its verdicts, guilty as charged on two counts of first-degree murder, after just over an hour’s deliberation.
In June, a mistrial was declared by Judge John D. Mosely Jr. after it was learned that an attorney involved tested positive for COVID-19, and a key witness also was symptomatic. Contact tracing could have led to other potential quarantines. No recess was possible due to witness and juror availabilities.
Watkins faces two life sentences when he returns to Judge Mosely’s court for sentencing October 19, 2022.
Assistant District Attorneys Bill Edwards and Mekisha Creal prosecuted the case. Watkins was defended by Sean Collins and the Capital Defense Project of Southeast Louisiana.