Margaret Everson Fossi, a 25-year-old white female architecture student at Rice University in Houston, Texas, was found dead on January 18, 1982. She had been reported missing the day before by relatives with whom she lived. Margaret had gone out with fellow students to a local nightclub on the evening of January 16 and was last seen driving away from the Rice University parking lot around 2:30 a.m. on January 17.
Her car was later discovered parked just a block from her home with two flat tires. It was towed to a police garage, where her body was discovered in the locked trunk during an inspection the following day.
An autopsy revealed that Margaret Fossi died from asphyxia caused by a blow to the throat. Her death was initially a mystery, but it was later linked to a series of murders committed by Coral Eugene Watts, a 28-year-old diagnosed schizophrenic and serial killer who targeted young women in Houston and other cities. Watts confessed to killing Margaret Fossi, describing how he attacked her and disposed of her body in the trunk of her car. He also admitted to stealing and burning her belongings, including her shoes, purse, and architectural blueprints, claiming he did so to "kill the spirit."
Watts was arrested in May 1982 after attempting to murder two other women. In exchange for his cooperation and confessions to multiple murders, including that of Margaret Fossi, he was granted immunity from prosecution for those specific crimes. He eventually confessed to attacking 19 women and murdering 13, though he was never charged for Margaret Fossi’s death due to the immunity deal. Despite the lack of formal charges in her case, Watts’ confession and the details he provided confirmed his role in the murder of the 25-year-old white female student. Her death was part of a broader pattern of violence that terrorized Houston during that period.
