The word is out about Shelley Watkins!
WFAA in Dallas is about to air the first TV report on Shelley's unresolved murder
Hey!
Thanks for subscribing to our newsletter for The Unforgotten. The year has gotten off to a very busy start, especially for Carol, who’s been fielding a ton of calls and pursuing some very interesting leads in the pursuit of #justiceforShelley. Please keep the information coming!
Yesterday, we recorded a special bonus episode of The Unforgotten, Season 1: The Labor Day Ghost. The bonus episode, which announces a new development in the story, will arrive in early March. Of course, you’ll be the first to hear about it!
Shelley’s case makes its TV debut next week
Y’all, we have tried so hard to raise awareness for Shelley Watkins’ unresolved murder. For whatever reason, Shelley’s story has never been featured on television before. Until now.
If you live near Dallas, be sure to watch the 10 o’clock news on Friday, Feb. 28, for a special report from Rebecca Lopez, the senior crime and justice reporter for WFAA Channel 8. For her news segment about Shelley’s case, Rebecca interviewed Carol in two locations near Corsicana: both outside the house where Shelley and Jerry Mack Watkins lived in Beaton Lake Estates and next to the bridge where Shelley’s body was recovered from the Trinity River.
Of course, the WFAA story will also be available for you online. We’ll be sure to share the link via this newsletter and on our Facebook and Instagram accounts.
If that’s not enough, Carol and several other people have also been interviewed about Shelley’s case for a nationwide true crime show that will appear on cable and streaming later this year. We’ll pass along the details as soon as the run date is official.
The story just keeps spreading
Carol usually takes the lead when we talk to news outlets and podcasts, given her local ties to Corsicana and three-decade focus on Shelley’s case. Last week, though, I was the one who discussed Shelley’s case (and the role I’ve played in reporting and telling the story) for Episode 10 of Justice Pending, the latest season of true crime podcast Final Days on Earth with Claire St. Amant.
Carol and I have both become fast fans of Claire, a former producer for 48 Hours and 60 Minutes who just came out with her first book, Killer Story, a tell-all memoir about the world of true crime television.
Also, just in case you missed it, Carol also did a great job laying out the details of Shelley’s case on the Wicked Words podcast with Kate Winkler Dawson back in January.
Corsicana is back in the news, too
Carol wanted to share with you, as well, that a movie called Trial By Fire, about the wrongful execution of Corsicana resident Cameron Todd Willingham, came out today on Netflix.
The movie is based on the incredible (and incredibly long) 2009 New Yorker article “Trial by Fire” by David Grann. Texas Monthly has also written many articles about Willingham’s case. Carol is writing about it in her book, too.
From Netflix: Trial by Fire is the true-life Texas story of the unlikely bond between an imprisoned death row inmate (Jack O’Connell) and a mother of two from Houston (Laura Dern) who, though facing staggering odds, fights mightily for his freedom. Cameron Todd Willingham, a poor, uneducated heavy metal devotee with a violent streak and a criminal record, is convicted of arson-related triple homicide in 1992. During his 12 years on death row, Elizabeth Gilbert, an improbable ally, uncovers questionable methods and illogical conclusions in his case, and battles with the state to expose suppressed evidence that could save him.
Season 3 coming soon-ish
Last Friday, I met with the pair of incredibly talented journalists who are writing Season 3 of The Unforgotten. Like Season 2, this one is going to be about a different case they have been following and reporting on for years. It’s an unbelievable story. I’m not exactly sure when it will start. We’re aiming for later this spring.
That’s all for now! Thanks again for supporting our work. We’ll be back soon. — Wes Ferguson, producer of The Unforgotten
I don’t come on here often so you are welcome to message me on Facebook. Amy O’Shay Sotelo. I’d like to give you a chance to explain this before I post it!
Carol, I thought you were doing all of this in the pursuit of truth and Justice! This is very disappointing, and myself along with anyone else I know or can convince will be unsubscribing to The Unforgotten and I know a lot of people. Just unbelievable!!!