After hung jury, ex-Tucson fire captain faces new triple-murder trial

After a hung jury, county prosecutors will retry a former Tucson Fire Department captain in the slayings of his ex-wife, her mother and her mother’s friend.

David Watson’s first murder trial resulted in a hung jury on Nov. 22.

At a status conference Friday, prosecutors with the Pima County Attorney’s Office and the two defense lawyers representing Watson agreed on Jan. 24 as the start date for the next trial.

The next trial is expected to last about seven weeks — the same amount of time as the first trial – and finish around March 10.

Watson, 47, was charged in April 2015 with two counts of first-degree murder and one count of second-degree murder. He pleaded not guilty.

The charges stemmed from the disappearance of his ex-wife Linda Watson, 35, during a bitter custody battle over their then-4-year-old daughter in 2000.

David Watson also was accused in the shooting deaths of Linda Watson’s mother Marilyn Cox, 63, and Cox’s neighbor Renee Farnsworth, 53, in 2003 during a dispute over grandparent visitation rights to the daughter.

The defense said there was no evidence tying Watson to the killings and cast doubt on the investigative techniques used to incriminate him.

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Watson worked at the Tucson Fire Department from 1995 to 2015 and was promoted to captain in 2007.

Hunters found Linda Watson’s skull in a desert area in 2003. Eight years later, the remains were identified as hers through DNA testing.

David Watson’s then-wife provided his alibi for the 2000 and 2003 incidents, but recanted her account not long after their 2007 divorce.

The defense said she was a jilted lover upset that her husband had an affair and asked her for a divorce.

The prosecution said she came forward because she felt overburdened with carrying her ex-husband’s secrets.

Watson, who appeared in court Friday in shackles and an orange jumpsuit, is still being held in Pima County jail on a $900,000 cash bond.

When the hung jury was announced, Pima County Superior Court Judge Richard Fields issued a gag order on the lawyers involved in the case and the victims’ family members.