Jennifer Brown Bio – Jennifer Brown Wiki
Pennsylvania authorities have arrested the “supposed friend and business partner” of Jennifer Brown in her killing, officials said Thursday.
AGE:
Jennifer Brown was 43 years old.
DETAIL OF INCIDENCE:
Blair Watts, 33, was arrested on charges of first-degree murder, third-degree murder, theft by unlawful taking/disposition, and access device fraud, according to a Facebook post by the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office.
He is awaiting arraignment at the Montgomery County Correctional Facility. He was arrested while appearing in court on an unrelated case, according to NBC Philadelphia.
Brown, 43, was last seen on Jan. 3. The Royersford, Pennsylvania, woman was reported missing by Watts on Jan. 4.
Brown’s body was discovered on Jan. 18 partially buried in a field near the city of Royersford, which is about 30 miles northwest of Philadelphia.
The district attorney’s office said their investigation began after Watts reported Brown missing. The two were allegedly friends who had gone into business together last August, with Brown investing in a soon-to-be restaurant called “Birdies Kitchen” in Phoenixville, according to the district attorney.
“For 37 days since this devoted mother was reported missing, detectives have been accumulating evidence, piece by piece, bringing into focus what happened to Jennifer and who murdered her,” said DA Kevin R. Steele. “That picture shows Blair Watts murdered Jennifer Brown on Jan. 3rd, then moved her body and ultimately buried her in a shallow grave. He is now behind bars at the Montgomery County Correctional Facility.”
Court records, naming him as Blair Anthony Watts, show no bond has been set.
His attorney, Christopher David Mandracchia, did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment on Thursday.
Investigators used a cadaver dog, cellphone records, and business records to piece the case together.
Authorities investigated their business transactions and found that the day before Brown was reported missing, two cash transfers were made from her accounts to Watts for a total of $17,000, which allegedly were never part of a written agreement between the two.
In Instagram posts, Watts allegedly referenced the opening of the restaurant at the beginning of this year, but detectives say they learned from the Phoenixville property owners that they discussed the rental property back in August but a lease was never signed by Watts and no money was turned over.
They allowed Watts to hang a banner on the facade of the building but no renovations were made to ready it for a restaurant opening, according to the press release.
In late December, one of the property owners told Watts they decided to not rent the property to him, which led to Watts threatening to sue, the district attorney’s office said.
However, he returned on Jan. 4, “now saying he had money to put down on a lease,” the district attorney’s office said.
Investigators with the Limerick Township Police and Montgomery County detectives said on the day Brown went missing, Watts picked up her son from the school bus stop and told the 8-year-old his mom was at the supermarket and that he would be sleeping over at his home for the night. The 8-year-old allegedly told detectives he saw Watts with his mother’s cell phone at the time.
According to the district attorney’s office, Brown’s personal cellphone traveled away from the home before returning a short while later. The cell phone still remains missing.
The next day, cellphone records show, Brown’s phone and Watts’ phone traveled together once again before the phone’s signal was lost at around 7 a.m.
The cadaver dog indicated human remains inside Brown’s home and two vehicles owned by the Watts family.
Brown’s cause of death was “homicide by unspecified means,” the release stated. She also had three broken ribs, the district attorney’s office said.
Watts has defended himself publicly in the case.
“I have nothing to do with anything,” Watts told NBC Philadelphia earlier this month. “Just because I’m the last person to see her, that does not mean anything.