A man charged in the murder of his business partner in Montgomery County will be held for trial after prosecutors accused him of defrauding the victim for months and killing her to get more of her money.
Blair Watts appeared in court on Thursday for a preliminary hearing where prosecutors laid out new evidence against him following his arrest last month for the murder of Jennifer Brown, 43.
Brown, of Limerick Township, was last seen alive on January 3. Her body was later found in a wooded area behind an industrial facility along the 200 block of North 5th Street in Royersford on Jan. 18.
Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele said that an autopsy found that Brown's cause of death was 'homicide by unspecified means." However, he said that the coroner's office had found that three of Brown's ribs were broken before she died and her death was likely caused by "compression asphyxiation."
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Watts, who investigators said was Brown’s “supposed friend and business partner,” was the last person to see her alive.
Watts told NBC10 that he had taken her son on the evening of Jan. 3 to sleep over at his house and he claimed Brown never called that night to speak with him or her son.
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Brown was scheduled to pick up her son from the bus stop the following afternoon on Jan. 4 but never showed up, according to Watts.
“I put Noah on the bus the next day,” Watts told NBC10 during an interview in January.
Watts also told NBC10 he didn't know what happened to Brown between Jan. 3 and the morning of Jan. 4.
“I have nothing to do with anything,” Watts said. “Just because I’m the last person to see her, that does not mean anything.”
However, if there was a planned sleepover, Watts had provided no clothes for Brown's special needs son nor had he brought medicine that the boy had to take twice a day, according to Steele.
"This was highly unusual," said Steele.
On February 9, Watts was arrested and charged in Brown’s murder, 37 days after her disappearance.
During Thursday’s preliminary hearing, prosecutors accused Watts of defrauding Brown for months and killing her to get his hands on more of her money.
The two entered a business contract last summer to open Birdie’s Kitchen, a restaurant in Phoenixville, in January and Brown was to contribute $14,000 to that business plan, investigators said. While that amount was satisfied prior to the holidays, Watts continued to ask Brown for money for other repairs and equipment, according to prosecutors.
According to prosecutors however, the restaurant had no chance of opening after the location Watts wanted to rent refused to give him a lease. Investigators also said Watts hadn't paid the owners of the building any money to use the space and he had no key to the building.
Watts still repeatedly went to Brown to get money for supplies and painting, according to investigators. Prosecutors said two cash app transactions were made from Brown’s account to Watts’ on the day they believe she died.
On Jan. 3, Brown's bank records show that $17,000 had been transferred from her account to an account for Birdie's Kitchen, according to investigators.
Then on Jan. 4 -- a day after police believe Brown was killed -- Watts showed up at the Birdie’s Kitchen location, telling the owners he had the money they needed, investigators said.
Watts' defense team, meanwhile, said their client was simply an easy target for police and someone else could’ve killed Brown.
Ultimately the judge found there was enough evidence against Watts to hold him over for trial. He was taken back to Montgomery County Prison Thursday evening.
Watts continued to deny killing Brown when interviewed by NBC10’s Deanna Durante following Thursday’s hearing, saying, “I wish I knew,” when asked who killed her.
Watts also said he missed his children as well as Brown’s son.
“I love them,” Watts said. “It’s been a long time without them. I miss my godson Noah too.”
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