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Rockbridge County Circuit Court Judge Chris Russell last week overruled a motion to suppress evidence in the second-degree murder trial of Jonathan Watkins.
Watkins is accused of murdering his girlfriend, Katrina Dudley, in December 2021.
Represented by Samuel Thomas, the defense was claiming that Watkins had not been properly notified of his legal Miranda rights at the time of his arrest, therefore making the commonwealth’s evidence against him inadmissible .
The commonwealth, represented by Jared Moon, came prepared to last Wednesday’s hearing with multiple witnesses and extensive evidence, including a nine-hour and 40-minute surveillance video from inside the investigation room on the day of the incident, Dec. 10, 2021.
While Moon did not play the entire surveillance video, he showed footage past the point of investigators reciting the Miranda rights to Watkins. Investigators and deputies also testified that Watkins had been read his rights.
On Dec. 10, 2021, the Rockbridge Regional Public Safety Communications Center received a 911 call from Watkins’ mother claiming that Dudley shot herself as Watkins was attempting to get the gun away from her. First responders were dispatched to Hummingbird Lane in the Natural Bridge area. Upon their arrival to the residence, investigators found Dudley, 28, unresponsive, and she was declared dead on site shortly thereafter.
Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Amy Tharp testified at the preliminary hearing last April that Dudley suffered from a gunshot wound to the back of the head, which could indicate that the cause of death was a homicide. Watkins claimed that Dudley was holding the gun when it accidentally fired.
Watkins is facing felony charges of second-degree murder; shooting/throwing towards an occupied building or dwelling; nonviolent possession of a gun by a felon within ten years of a prior conviction; use of a firearm in felony first off, and use or attempting to use a firearm in a threatening manner.
A four-day jury trial on the charges is scheduled to begin on July 18.
