Elizabeth Ann Montgomery, a 25-year-old white female, was tragically murdered on the night of September 12, 1981, in Houston, Texas. At the time of her death, she was walking her dog near her apartment around midnight. According to police reports, she was stabbed once outside her residence. Despite the severity of the attack, she managed to make it back inside her apartment before collapsing and dying from her injuries.
Her body was later discovered by authorities, and the case quickly drew attention due to its brutal nature and the apparent randomness of the assault.
Montgomery’s murder was eventually linked to a series of killings attributed to Coral Eugene Watts, a known serial killer who operated in Texas and Michigan during the late 1970s and early 1980s. Watts, a 28-year-old Black male at the time of his arrest, confessed to killing or attacking numerous women, many of whom were young and targeted while alone. His victims included women from various backgrounds, and his methods ranged from stabbing to strangulation. Elizabeth Montgomery, the 25-year-old white female victim from Houston, was among those listed in his confessions.
Watts was described by law enforcement as a psychotic individual with a deep-seated hatred for women. His confession to Montgomery’s murder came as part of a broader admission in which he detailed the killings of at least 11 women in the Houston area. Authorities confirmed that Montgomery’s death fit the pattern of Watts’ other crimes, which often involved surprise attacks on women in residential areas during nighttime hours.
Following his confessions, Coral Eugene Watts was arrested and eventually convicted for multiple murders. His arrest brought some measure of closure to the families of his victims, including that of Elizabeth Montgomery, the 25-year-old white female whose life was cut short in a senseless act of violence. Watts’ case remains one of the most chilling examples of serial homicide in Texas history.
