Eugene McWatters: The Salerno Strangler
Overview
For ten weeks in the spring of 2004, a sense of fear gripped the community of Port Salerno, Florida, as the bodies of three women were discovered in desolate, outlying areas. The victims, all sexually assaulted and strangled, were preyed upon by Eugene Wayman McWatters Jr., a local man with a history of violence. Known as "The Salerno Strangler," McWatters targeted vulnerable women, luring them with promises of drugs or a place to shower before taking their lives. His capture came after a previous sexual assault victim bravely came forward, leading to his arrest and a full confession. Though initially sentenced to death, his sentence was later commuted to life in prison, where he died in 2024.
Early Life and Criminal History
Eugene Wayman McWatters Jr. was born on June 20, 1978, in Port Salerno, Florida. Details about his childhood are scarce, but his life as a young adult was marked by instability and frequent trouble with the law. After dropping out of high school due to a drug habit, he struggled to maintain employment, moving between low-skilled labor jobs.
His criminal record began in January 1998, when he was arrested for aggravated battery on a teenage boy. He pleaded no contest and served seven months in prison. This was followed by a series of arrests for offenses including probation violations, assault, and robbery. In one 2001 incident, he was arrested for injuring his girlfriend's father with a gun, serving three months for violating his probation. In several other cases, charges were dropped when victims declined to cooperate with police. In December 2003, just months before the murders began, McWatters raped a homeless woman at a campsite, an attack she did not report to police at the time.
The Murders
The series of killings began in the spring of 2004. The victims were all women McWatters knew from the area who were in precarious situations. He used a consistent method, luring them to secluded locations with offers of help or drugs, then sexually assaulting and strangling them.
The first victim was 43-year-old Jacqueline "Jackie" Bradley. On or around March 24, 2004, McWatters encountered Bradley at a homeless encampment where she sometimes stayed. Witnesses later told police they saw McWatters offer Bradley the use of a shower at his sister's nearby house. The two were seen walking away together. It was the last time Bradley was seen alive. Her partially clothed body was discovered on March 31 by a jogger in a shallow, water-filled ditch near his sister's home. McWatters had attempted to weigh her body down with rocks.
Over two months later, on May 31, 2004, McWatters killed two more women within hours of each other. He first picked up Christal Dawn Wiggins, a 29-year-old woman, at a house party. Friends last saw her with McWatters before they left together. He strangled her and dumped her body in a pile of brush.
That same night, McWatters targeted 18-year-old Carrie Ann Caughey. He was seen approaching her in a convenience store parking lot. He strangled her and, in the process of trying to hide her body under a pile of branches, he tripped and broke his foot. This injury would later become a key piece of evidence for investigators.
The Victims
- Jacqueline Bradley, 43 — Murdered around March 24, 2004, in Port Salerno. Known as "Jackie Clark" to her friends in the homeless community where she lived, she was a mother who had fallen on hard times. Her daughter, Laura Crosby Dittmer, later confronted McWatters at his sentencing, stating, "The joke you thought you were playing is now on you."
- Christal Dawn Wiggins, 29 — Murdered on May 31, 2004, in Port Salerno. Born on June 8, 1974, Christal was a resident of nearby Stuart. Her life was cut short in a brutal act of violence, leaving behind family and friends who mourned her loss.
- Carrie Ann Caughey, 18 — Murdered on May 31, 2004, in Port Salerno. A former runaway, Carrie Ann was just entering adulthood when her life was taken. She was last seen in the early morning hours before she was lured away by McWatters.
Investigation and Capture
The discovery of Jacqueline Bradley's body on March 31, 2004, launched a homicide investigation by the Martin County Sheriff's Office. Detectives quickly identified McWatters as a person of interest, as he was the last person seen with her. They interviewed him on April 2 and administered a polygraph test on April 15, which indicated deception when he denied involvement in her death. However, they did not have enough evidence to arrest him.
The community was thrown into a state of fear when the bodies of two more women were found in early June. Carrie Ann Caughey's body was discovered by passersby on June 3, four days after she was killed. On June 7, the body of Christal Wiggins was found in a wooded area not far from where Caughey was located. The similar manner of death and disposal of the bodies led investigators to believe they were dealing with a serial killer.
The breakthrough came from two key developments. First, investigators learned that McWatters had been treated at a hospital for a broken foot around the time Caughey and Wiggins were murdered, corroborating their theory that the killer had tripped while disposing of Caughey's body. The second, and most crucial, development was when the woman McWatters had raped in December 2003 came forward. After seeing news reports about the murders, she recognized the pattern of violence and reported her attack to the police, identifying McWatters from a photo lineup.
On June 23, 2004, police arrested Eugene McWatters on the unrelated sexual battery charge. During questioning, detectives confronted him about the three murders. He confessed to sexually assaulting and strangling all three women, telling police that he would be having sex with them and would just "freak out" or "lose it." He later recanted his confession, but not before he had led detectives to the locations where he killed Wiggins and Caughey and provided details only the killer would know.
Trial and Sentence
The trial of Eugene McWatters began in September 2006, with the three murder cases consolidated into one. The prosecution, led by Assistant State Attorney Tom Bakkedahl, portrayed McWatters as a calculating and predatory killer who manipulated vulnerable women. They presented his detailed confession, testimony from witnesses who saw him with the victims shortly before their deaths, and the evidence of his broken foot.
McWatters' defense attorneys argued that their client was innocent and had only confessed to the crimes because he craved attention. They claimed the confession was coerced by manipulative police interrogation tactics.
On September 28, 2006, after about two hours of deliberation, the jury found Eugene McWatters guilty of three counts of first-degree murder and three counts of sexual battery with great force. During the penalty phase, the jury recommended the death sentence for each murder. On December 4, 2006, Circuit Judge Larry Schack formally sentenced McWatters to death, in addition to three consecutive life sentences for the sexual batteries.
Appeals and Resentencing
McWatters spent the next eight years on Florida's death row at the Union Correctional Institution. His case went through the standard appeals process. The Florida Supreme Court initially upheld his convictions and death sentences in 2010.
However, in 2014, McWatters was granted a new trial. A judge ruled that his original defense team had been ineffective, particularly during the penalty phase of the trial. The judge found that his lawyers had failed to adequately investigate and present mitigating evidence about McWatters' troubled background and potential mental health issues.
Facing a new trial but with the weight of his previous conviction and confession against him, McWatters chose to enter a plea. In 2015, he pleaded no contest to the three murder charges. In exchange for his plea, he was sentenced to three consecutive terms of life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Death in Prison
Eugene McWatters' life sentence concluded with his death. On September 9, 2024, he died at the age of 46 while incarcerated at the Central Florida Reception Center in Orlando. The specific cause of his death was not publicly released. His death brought a final, quiet end to the case of the Salerno Strangler, nearly two decades after his reign of terror ended.
