Ex-Tucson Fire captain sentenced to life in prison for 3 murders

A former Tucson Fire Department captain likely will spend the rest of his life in prison for killing his ex-wife, her mother and her mother’s friend.

David Watson was sentenced Monday to 16 years in prison for killing his ex-wife Linda Watson; a life sentence for killing her mother, Marilyn Cox; and another life sentence for killing Cox’s friend, Renee Farnsworth.

The sentences will run consecutively and Watson will serve 66 years before he is eligible for parole. He must first serve the 16-year sentence and 25 years each of the life sentences. He was given credit for 723 days already spent incarcerated.

Watson was convicted March 17 of the three murders in a second trial after his first trial last year ended in a hung jury. Before sentencing Monday, Pima County Superior Court Judge Deborah Bernini denied Watson’s request for a new trial.

Watson, 48, was convicted of one count of second-degree murder in the 2000 death of Linda Watson, 35. He also was found guilty of two counts of first-degree murder in the 2003 fatal shootings of Cox, 63, and Farnsworth, 53.

Linda Watson disappeared in 2000 from her house in the 2600 block of West Curtis Road. Investigators found blood in several locations inside the house.

Three years later, her skull was found near the Silverbell Mine northwest of Tucson. The skull wasn’t identified as hers until 2011, due to a mistaken assumption it belonged to someone who died after crossing the border illegally.

Cox tried to find her daughter’s killer and fought David Watson and his then-wife, Rosemary Watson, in court for visitation rights to Cox’s granddaughter, who was 4 years old when her mother disappeared.

In 2003, Cox and Farnsworth were fatally shot in Cox’s driveway by a lone gunman after Cox’s first unsupervised visit with the Watsons’ daughter, Jordynn.

On Monday, Pat Hinkle, sister of Marilyn Cox and aunt of Linda Watson, tearfully read a prepared statement in which she said her niece was disposed of “like a sack of trash.”

She lamented there would be no more conversations with her sister about “silly shoes” or sharing coffee and doughnuts. Instead, her sister and niece were killed by the “same sadistic coward.”

Jordynn Watson said Bernini was sending an “innocent man” to prison and called the trial “truly a failure of our justice system.”

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“I lost my mother and grandmother and now I’ve lost my father,” she read from a prepared statement as her hands shook the paper.

She said her father was “very kind-hearted” and tried to provide a “safe environment” for her.

Her mother and grandmother are “looking down disgusted” at the investigation and trial, where “a lot of untruths” were told.

Defense lawyer Natasha Wrae pointed to letters of support for Watson filed with the court by firefighters who “don’t believe he had the capacity to do this.” She also noted Watson was promoted at TFD, which she said was a sign of his good character.

Wrae asked that Watson be sentenced to the minimum term, which would have been concurrent sentences with the possibility of release after 25 years in prison.

Deputy County Attorney Jonathan Mosher said Watson showed “severe disregard for the value of human life” and asked that he be sentenced to the remainder of his natural life.

David Watson said he is innocent, despite being “labeled as guilty.” The murders were “very tragic” and the “tragedy will continue” as he spends years in prison.

He asked Bernini to give him concurrent sentences “so maybe I can be back with my kids,” he said as he choked up.

Watson said he was hopeful his appeal would exonerate him.

Bernini cautioned that no matter what sentence she handed down, “there is no closure” to anyone whose lives were “hopelessly shattered” by Watson’s crimes.

“There is a darker nature to all of us, but some people hide it better than others,” and Watson’s darker nature rendered him capable of the murders, she said.