Prosecutors: Inmate's confession in Tucson murder case false

An Illinois inmate’s confession in a Tucson murder case in which a former Tucson fire captain was convicted of killing his ex-wife, mother-in-law and a third woman is false, prosecutors say.

The inmate has made numerous false confessions in the past, prosecutors say in court filings.

The case involves David Dwayne Watson who was convicted of the murders.

Last month, Pima County Superior Court Judge Cynthia Kuhn ordered prosecutors to provide Watson’s attorney, Paul Banales, with the entire file from a sheriff’s department investigation into the confession made by the inmate, Corey Fox, in the killing of Linda Watson, the fire captain’s ex-wife.

Banales had filed a motion in May asking prosecutors for the file after he got a copy of a four-page letter Fox wrote in December 2022 in which he claimed responsibility for killing Linda Watson.

In a July court filing, Deputy County Attorney Bradley Roach said they were alerted about Fox’s confession on Dec. 11. By the next day, they requested that a sheriff’s department detective investigate the letter.

Months later, it was determined that Fox’s claim was a false confession, saying that he has made false murder claims for more than 20 years in “an apparent attempt to get attention,” the notice said.

By mid-March, prosecutors told the defense attorney they did not believe the letter was truthful, the filing said.

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Roach also apologized in the notice for missing the hearing that discussed whether Banales would be given the file. He said the case was still assigned to the previous appellate counsel and was not aware of the hearin.

The prosecution has since given Banales the full file, the notice said.

Watson is currently serving two life sentences along with a 16-year sentence in prison for the murders of Linda Watson, Marilyn Cox, his mother-in-law, and Renee Farnsworth, a friend of Cox.

Linda Watson, 35, disappeared from her home the in 2000. Three years later, her skull was found near the Silverbell Mine northwest of Tucson and identified as hers in 2011, the Arizona Daily Star reported.

Three years after her disappearance, her mother, Cox, 63 and her friend Farnsworth, 53, were shot and killed in Cox’s driveway by a lone gunman after Cox had her first unsupervised visit with the Watsons’ daughter.

In 2015, Watson was charged with two counts of first degree murder and one count of second degree murder in connection with the killings. During his trial, the prosecutor said Watson killed his wife to end a nasty custody battle over their daughter. He also said Watson killed Cox after she publicly blamed him for her daughter’s disappearance.

Despite being found guilty, Watson has maintained his innocence. His counsel had previously appealed his convictions to the Arizona Court of Appeals but was denied in 2019.