April 1, 2004

LANSING – Governor Jennifer M. Granholm today initiated proceedings to extradite an alleged serial killer from Texas who is suspected in the 1979 murder of a Ferndale woman.
 
The Governor signed the extradition request for Coral Watts who is currently serving a 60-year sentence in the Texas correctional system after pleading guilty to aggravated burglary in 1982.  Watts also has confessed to killing 13 women, including two victims from Michigan.  Watts is suspected of committing 26 murders and has claimed to have killed more than 80 victims.
 
“Today is the first step in the path to justice for the family of Helen Dutcher who was killed in Ferndale in 1979,” Granholm said.  “The extradition proceedings are the result of the diligent work of several law enforcement agencies, including the Michigan State Police, Attorney General’s Office, the Ferndale Police Department, and Texas law enforcement officials.”
 
Under Texas law, Watts is scheduled to be released from prison there in May 2006.
 
Under the Uniform Criminal Extradition Act, the power to execute an extradition agreement for an individual in Texas is vested only in Governor Granholm and Texas Governor Rick Perry.  Now that Governor Granholm has signed the extradition request, it has been sent to Governor Perry for his agreement.