Suspect charged with killing Montco mom, hiding body
NORRISTOWN, Pa. (CBS) -- A man has been charged with first-degree murder in connection with the death of Jennifer Brown, the Limerick Township mother that went missing at the beginning of January, the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office announced on Thursday.
Blair Watts, 33, of Hunsberger Drive in Royersford, has been charged with murder and other related offenses for the 43-year-old mother's death. He's also accused of disposing of her body.
"Jennifer was a devoted mother, a dear friend to many, a woman who was deeply loved," Kevin Steele, the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office, said. "Her life was cut short at 43 years of age."
Steele said during a news conference on Thursday Brown was killed inside her home before her body was dumped in a wooded area in Royersford and found on Jan. 18.
The affidavit of probable cause shows detectives later searched her home and found "several black and white marble pattern plastic pieces within the carpet." That baffled detectives.
"At first, we didn't know what they were," Steele said.
But Steele says those small plastic pieces from her home helped detectives in a big way.
They were later determined to be broken off a hair clip, and the rest of that clip was found near Brown's remains – helping police tie Watts to the murder.
"That became significant to say this likely happened in her house and then she was taken to this shallow grave," Steele said.
Investigators say Watts was Brown's business partner and friend. The two planned on opening a restaurant called "Birdie's Kitchen" in Phoenixville at the end of January.
Brown and Watts entered a business partnership together in late August.
According to the Montco District Attorney's Office, there were two cash transfers to accounts controlled by Watts the day before Brown was reported missing. CashApp records show a transfer of $9,000 went through to "$Birdieskitchen," and another transfer of $8,000 via Zelle.
Those transfers were never part of a written agreement between Brown and Watts, according to a release.
Brown had last been seen alive on Jan. 3.
Steele said there may have been an argument before Brown's murder, but exactly how Brown died is still unclear.
"There's no gunshot, there's no knife and no toxicology that would explain her death," Steele said. "But you have broken ribs while she was still alive and that leads to the conclusion this was a homicide by unspecified means."
Watts is currently locked up the Montgomery County jail without bail.