Suspect in 1983 killing wasn’t hiding, dad says
Watts spent past 15 years in Arkansas
DIXON – Steven A. Watts, who is accused of murder in Lee County, moved away from Illinois long ago.
For 15 years, he has lived near Berryville, Ark., where he ran a chicken farm, his father, Wilburn Watts, said Wednesday.
Watts, 56, is accused in the 1983 beating death of Gary D. Dawson of Peoria. According to the Lee County Sheriff’s Department, Dawson died of blunt-force trauma to the head. Dawson’s battered body was found in a hog pen on a farm about a mile south of Franklin Grove on Aug. 29, 1983.
Story Archived
Only the most recent 7 days of articles are available for free. For articles older than 7 days there is a small fee for retrieval from our archive. If you are a registered member of the site, the content is free just by signing in below.
Please sign in with your Comment Member ID and password.
Purchase Access
To allow for flexibility, we offer a variety of options for purchasing articles:
Having trouble?
If you have any technical difficulties, either with your username and password or with the payment options, please contact us by e-mail at archivedesk@shawmedia.com
