“Because it wasn’t solved.”
That’s why Preston County deputies chose to reopen the nearly four-decade-old cold case murder of 13-year-old Jeremiah “Jerry” Matthew Watkins, Sheriff Paul “Moe” Pritt said.
Now, 37 years after Jerry’s body was found in a shallow hole by the railroad tracks in Terra Alta, police say a Westover man has confessed to the killing.
According to an article published by The Dominion Post on Nov. 13, 1985, the teen had been reported missing just a few days prior to his body being discovered by searchers.
An autopsy of Jerry’s body at the time showed he suffered a brain bleed from an apparent blow to the head, with the ultimate cause of death being a stab wound to the back.
The case had gone unsolved, despite efforts from several officers and departments. But when Captain T.N. Tichnell began reviewing the case again at the beginning of February 2023, he found a few inconsistencies with statements from David Monroe Adams, 56, of Westover.
Adams, who was 18 at the time, was interviewed by Tichnell several times before eventually confessing to the crime.
Adams allegedly told the officer that an argument had started over a stolen bicycle at his then-residence in Terra Alta, before he struck the boy in the face and took him to a shed and stabbed him.
Adams further admitted “he then dragged Jeremiah’s body and placed it in the shallow hole,” the complaint said.
Sheriff Pritt said he was unable to go into more detail about the investigation at this time, however Adams has been charged with second-degree murder and further charges are anticipated as the probe continues.
Adams is currently being held on a $1,000,000 bond at North Central Regional Jail.
In addition to the Preston County Sheriff’s Department, the West Virginia State Police and the Monongalia County Sheriff’s Department assisted with the case.
Anyone with information relating to Jerry’s murder is asked to call Capt. Tichnell at 304-329-1611, Ext. 2152.
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