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Connecticut Man Allegedly Murdered Ex-Fiancée For Breaking Up With Him, Then Dumped Her Body
Nearly one year after Perrie Mason was found dead, her former fiancé, Jason Watson, has been charged with murder.
A Connecticut man is facing charges for allegedly assaulting and killing his former fiancée after she broke off their engagement.
Police secured an arrest warrant Tuesday for Jason Darnell Watson for a charge of murder in connection to the death of Perrie Mason, the Meridan Police Department said in a press release. Mason was last seen alive on August 18, 2019. Just days after she vanished, her body was recovered in Waterbury, according to police.
Police have long considered Watson the prime suspect in the mother of two's murder, the Hartford Courant reports. Watson, 39, and Mason, 31, were in a relationship, and Watson is alleged to have assaulted Mason in the days before she went missing.
Watson first called the authorities to report that Mason was missing on August 17, telling police that she could possibly be staying with a friend because she was angry with him, according to the Courant.
However, Mason's sister contacted the authorities the following day to report that Watson and Mason were no longer together and alleged that Watson had assaulted Mason during an argument. The sister showed police text messages she received from her sister that claimed that Watson had choked her for so long that she lost consciousness.
Mason’s sister also showed the police photos that her sister sent to her on August 15, that showed injuries to her face that included red dots around her eyes, redness on her neck, and a swollen lip, according to another report from the Hartford Courant. Mason’s sister also had access to phone records in case of an emergency, and when she failed to hear from her sister, she was able to access her phone and find out that Mason called 911 twice on the evening of August 17. Police confirmed that although calls were received, no one spoke with dispatchers on the calls, KHON 2 reports.
It was after speaking with Mason’s sister that Mason was declared a missing person. Police then discovered her remains a few days later behind Baystate Textiles in Waterbury — a company where Watson worked, according to the outlet. A medical examiner later ruled that she died of homicidal violence by an undetermined cause, the Meridan Record-Journal reported.
Although the arrest warrant related to Mason’s death was not granted until recently, Watson has been in custody. He was charged in August in relation to a domestic violence incident, according to the Record-Journal. Other charges he faces include second-degree strangulation and first-degree unlawful restraint, and his bail was set at $1 million, the Hartford Courant reported.
Watson was scheduled to be arraigned on Wednesday, police said. He pleaded not guilty to the domestic violence charges; the murder case — as well as other charges — are pending, according to the Hartford Courant. The judge on Wednesday increased his bail to $3 million and ruled that the case be continued to July 17.
Police believe that Watson murdered Mason as retaliation for the breakup, WTNH reports. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner said that Watson first killed Mason, crushed her body, and set her remains on fire, according to the Hartford Courant. Newly released records also state that, in the days before Mason’s death, Watson searched online for how to poison someone, and surveillance cameras captured him driving Mason's car to his job at 3 a.m., and then taking a trip to Walmart, where he allegedly bought lighter fluid, plastic sheets, and a towel, the outlet reported.
Mason’s sister, Vao Horlback, remembered Mason as a "beautiful soul” who was “always smiling,” the Hartford Courant reported.
Mason, who was born in Hawaii, moved to Connecticut to be with Watson around a year and a half before she was killed, according to the Record-Journal.
She was a mother to two sons, owned an eyelash business, and worked as a court reporter. Her father, DeVictor King Mason, named her after his favorite TV lawyer, Perry Mason, he told the Record-Journal last year.
