Estranged and Violent: The Brenda Watson Murder Case

Tommie Kellum never made it out of his bathroom alive. On June 20, 2009, the Florida grandfather was shot in the chest by his estranged wife, Brenda Watson, as he emerged from the bathroom of their shared home. What began as a contentious divorce would end in violence—and a desperate flight across state lines.

Kellum and Watson were in the middle of divorce proceedings but continued living under the same roof, a volatile arrangement that ultimately proved fatal. The exact circumstances leading to that moment remain tied to a history of domestic violence. Family members reported that Watson had been violent toward Kellum before, even allegedly shooting him in the hand in a prior incident. On that June day, the tension boiled over.

After the shooting, Watson took matters into her own hands—literally. She wrapped Kellum's body in sheets and a rug, attempting to conceal what she had done. But the body remained in the home, and Florida's oppressive heat accelerated decomposition. An anonymous tip about a foul smell eventually led authorities to discover the remains.

While the body decomposed, Watson was busy covering her tracks in a different way. She took Kellum's wallet and truck from the scene and made her way to the Fort Lauderdale area, where she used his credit card repeatedly. Security camera footage from ATM withdrawals captured images of Watson using the victim's card—evidence that would later prove crucial to investigators building their case.

Watson's attempt to disappear didn't last long. She was arrested in Pennsylvania, far from the Florida home where the crime occurred. Facing the mounting evidence against her—the credit card usage, the ATM photographs, and the physical evidence at the scene—Watson confessed to murdering her husband.