Carrie Mae Jefferson, a 32-year-old African American woman from Houston, Texas, was tragically murdered on the night of April 16, 1982. She had just returned home from her job at the downtown post office when she was accosted outside her residence. According to later confessions, Coral Eugene Watts—an infamous serial killer—choked Carrie Mae Jefferson into semiconsciousness, forced her into the trunk of her own car, and drove her to White Oak Bayou.
Despite her desperate attempts to escape, Watts ultimately killed her and buried her body near the bayou. He then returned her car to the street where she lived, leaving her family to discover it abandoned.
Carrie Mae Jefferson’s disappearance initially baffled investigators. Her husband, James Jefferson, was subjected to intense scrutiny, including a polygraph test, as detectives explored the possibility of domestic involvement. Their daughters, Tawanda and Jakisha, were asleep at home during the incident. Tawanda, who was 12 years old at the time, later recalled the confusion and dread that filled their household in the days following her mother’s disappearance. The police initially speculated that Carrie Mae Jefferson may have left voluntarily, possibly with a lover, before shifting suspicion to her husband. It wasn’t until Coral Eugene Watts confessed to the murder that the truth emerged.
Watts, a serial killer suspected of murdering over 100 women, admitted to killing Carrie Mae Jefferson as part of a string of brutal attacks in Houston during the early 1980s. His modus operandi varied—he strangled, stabbed, drowned, and bludgeoned his victims—but he rarely robbed or sexually assaulted them. He claimed to target women with “evil eyes,” believing he was ridding the world of their “evil spirits.” Carrie Mae Jefferson, a 32-year-old African American postal worker, was one of several women murdered by Watts in a short span of time. Her body was buried along White Oak Bayou, and her grave was among those Watts led police to following his confession.
Watts was eventually arrested after a failed attempt to murder two other women in Houston. His arrest and subsequent confessions helped solve numerous cold cases, including the murder of Carrie Mae Jefferson. Although he received immunity for many of the murders he confessed to, public outrage and legal maneuvering eventually led to his conviction for other crimes. Carrie Mae Jefferson’s death remains one of the many tragic examples of Watts’ violent spree, and her family continues to carry the emotional weight of her loss. Her daughter Tawanda later worked the same shift at the same post office where her mother had been employed, a quiet tribute to the life and legacy of the 32-year-old African American woman whose life was stolen far too soon.
