Grisly evidence leads to bail bondsman's arrest in killing of 2 teens Blood, brain matter and bone fragments were found at the man's home and business

Blood pooled on the stoop of Kevin Watkins' Eastside home. It was splashed on the grass and leaves, trailing into the backyard, court documents say.

There was blood on the seats of the 49-year-old man's SUV. A plastic rake caked with blood was left behind trash cans. A bloody wad of duct tape was crumpled inside the trash cans, the documents say, along with bleach and a rope.

In the front yard, investigators found brain matter spattered near the sidewalk, a probable cause affidavit says.

And then police found a fingertip.

Watkins, an Indianapolis bounty hunter who owns Watkins Bail Bonds in the 6000 block of Massachusetts Avenue, is being held on two counts of murder in connection with the disappearance of Dionne Williams, 16, and Timmee Jackson, 15, on Christmas Eve.

The teens' deaths bring the total number of criminal homicides investigated by the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department this year to 144, making this the city's deadliest year on record. The previous record for criminal homicides was 143 in 1998.

Court documents describe the grisly scenes at Watkins' home in the 5900 block of East 23rd Street and at his bail bond business, where technicians found more blood, more brain matter and more bone fragments.

What investigators have not yet found, however, are the bodies of the two teenagers.

Police think the teenagers are dead, IMPD Lt. Richard Riddle said, but authorities won't know for sure that the blood belongs to the boys until police receive the results of lab tests.

Williams and Jackson were spending time with friends at their homes in Watkins' neighborhood on Christmas Eve, their parents and friends told police.

Williams realized he left his cellphone at the home of a friend who lived about 100 feet from Watkins, the probable cause affidavit says. To be safe, Jackson accompanied Williams to retrieve his phone, knowing the teenager was having problems with Watkins.

Watkins thought Williams previously burglarized his home, the affidavit says. He told police on Dec. 19 that several items, including two handguns, a rifle, a shotgun and a 42-inch flat-screen TV, were stolen from his home the night before, according to a police report. No arrests had been made in the burglary.

Both boys disappeared just after 7:45 p.m. Dec. 24. Those living at the home where the teens traveled to pick up Williams' cellphone declined to comment on the case Wednesday, other than to stress that both boys were loved and will be greatly missed by those in the neighborhood.

Williams' mother searched the area for her son Christmas morning and called the police after she saw blood on Watkins' stoop, the affidavit says.

Detectives obtained a search warrant for the home and business and encountered the graphic scenes.

In a garbage bag, police found a blood-soaked T-shirt and Indiana University hoodie, the clothing Williams wore that night, the affidavit says. Bone fragments and brain matter stuck to the cotton.

At Watkins' bail bonds business, police found muddy jeans and shoes with blood on them.

Surveillance video from the business showed that Watkins met with someone in a white Ford around 10:41 p.m. Dec. 24. The Ford driver carried something to his truck and left, the affidavit says.

The video also shows Watkins walking to his SUV with a shovel around 3:45 a.m. Friday.

The crime's brutal details came as a shock to those living in the Eastside neighborhood that Watkins and the teens called home.

Christopher Jackson said he talked to his younger brother Timmee on the phone in September, when Timmee turned 15. That was the last time they spoke.

"He's just letting me know that he's in high school and he basically wanted to play football or basketball," Jackson said. "He just wanted me to, you know, to see if I can come home someday."

Jackson is on work release after spending two years in prison, and he said he has not seen his little brother since he was locked up. He said his mother called him Saturday to tell him that his brother had been gone since Christmas Eve.

"I feel terrible that I wasn't able to spend time with my brother the way he wanted to," said Jackson, the oldest of eight siblings. "He always wanted to be around me. He likes to go to the gym and play basketball. That's all he ever wanted from me."

He said his brother never got in any trouble.

"It's just hard to believe that my youngest brother is ... that someone could do anything to him," Jackson said. "He didn't deserve it."

Watkins received his bail agent license in 1997. Under Indiana law, a person holding that license also can act as a recovery agent, said Jenifer Groth, spokeswoman for the Indiana Department of Insurance, the state agency that issues licenses for bail bondsmen.

Watkins' license was suspended in 2002 because of a tax lien and was reinstated in 2006, according to the agency.

Groth said the Department of Insurance's enforcement division is reviewing the murder allegations against Watkins to determine whether his license should be suspended or revoked.

Watkins appeared in court Wednesday morning for an initial hearing. Toward the end of the hearing, however, an apparent scuffle broke out outside the courtroom. Punches were thrown, and expletives were shouted, but it was unclear just who was involved.

Court staff for Superior Court 5 said sheriff's deputies pulled people apart. Staff members said one woman was shouting that someone had killed her brother.

No arrests were made.

There was no such drama, however, Wednesday morning on Watkins' street, where the neighborhood was quiet.

Watkins' nearest neighbors, Dennis Gordon and Barbara Ewigleben, said they had no idea that they had been living near a possible murder scene for the past few days.

Wednesday was the first time they had heard of the accusations against Watkins, whom they did not know.

Gordon said they returned to their home Christmas night and saw police working in the area. An IMPD mobile crime scene unit was parked in the driveway, and flood lights illuminated the corner of Arlington Avenue and 23rd Street.

"There was all that going on ... I thought maybe they found a body back there or somebody had tipped them off to something. I didn't know what to think," Gordon said. "But it seemed to me like there wasn't any kind of urgency. Like (police) were cleaning up after something. There wasn't an ambulance or anything, and three or four police cars. We never really heard anything."

"It was just such a surprise," Ewigleben added. "I just can't get over that. I'm not afraid, but that is just unsettling. Especially just next door."

Resident Linda Hagger said her 16-year-old was friends with the teens, and one of them would often stop by her home to hang out.

"It's been on my mind, but this is kind of happening everywhere now," she said. "Kids are just loose, and all kinds of stuff is happening. It's a shame."

Hagger said over the years, she has always tried to provide an open door and a safe place to play for friends of both her sons. She never imagined that someone living within the neighborhood would one day be accused of doing them harm.

"I don't even know what to say," she said.

At Watkins' home, tattered remains of police tape hung from trees at the front of his property, while a vacant home next door remained wrapped in black and yellow tape.

A volleyball sat in the grass of Watkins' front lawn. A few of the windows were boarded, and a small "Welcome" plaque hung near his front door, which no one answered.

Over his garage was another sign. It was yellow with red letters: "Warning. Trespassing could be hazardous to your health!!!"

Call Star reporter Madeline Buckley at (317) 444-6083. Follow her on Twitter: @Mabuckley88.