KPTM FOX 42: Omaha News, Sports and Weather; kptm.com |One of Omaha's Oldest Cold Cases Reopens

Meghan McRoberts

OMAHA (KPTM)-

A cold case from 1978 is brought back to life after new DNA and fingerprint testing brings a man to stand trial.

 51- year- old Jerry Watson is being charged with the 1^st degree murder of 61- year- old Carroll Bonnet.

Watson is currently serving time in Illinois for Burglary

Police discovered Bonnet's body, naked and face down on top of couch pillows, in his apartment, after being fatally stabbed in the stomach. Investigators also suggest he may have been sexually assaulted.

Towels covered in human waste were found next to his body, with traces of the waste on his back. Investigators say there were also blood traces on the couch, a cut phone cord, magazines and newspapers out of place nearby, male underwear on the floor, and other visible signs of a struggle.

A note was also left that read, "I'm leaving this crime with only one clue. Find it yourself. Die pig. –Helter."

But prosecutors believe they have more than one clue now thanks to advanced technology in fingerprint and DNA testing. Evidence was retested beginning in 2008. Tests revealed a hair follicle found in one of the towels by the body could be Watson's.

Also, one of the nearby magazines had Watson's name written, then scratched out. 

Bonnet's car went missing, and was eventually found in Watson's home town of Cicero, Illinois. The Nebraska plates were replaced with stolen Iowa plates.

But Watson's representative argued that there's no record of when the car was stolen, nor the exact day that Bonnet was even killed. He also said no murder weapon was retrieved, and multiple people had key access to the apartment, and to the car.

The defendant also argued that there is not enough evidence to support why he was killed. A challenge for both sides of the trial is the age of the case, because it is so old, most of the original investigators, witnesses, and neighbors have passed away 

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