Jury watches undercover video in Simpson trial

By Brian Knox
Published June 18, 2006

Jurors in the Rebecca Simpson murder for hire trial heard details Friday of Simpson’s relationship with Danny Watts and watched a key piece of evidence in the state’s case: the secretly videotaped meeting with an undercover officer posing as a hit man.

An audio recording of the first meeting between Department of Public Safety Officer Steve Reynolds, who was posing as a hit man, and Rebecca Simpson at a Costco parking lot in Southlake on Oct. 26, 2004, was heard by jurors first thing Friday morning.

On the tape, Simpson can be heard telling Reynolds that Danny Watts had been “propositioning” her 16-year-old daughter and she had been assaulted by Shemane Watts. She also said that Shemane Watts was telling people around town that she had been having an affair with Danny Watts.

Simpson is heard on the audio telling Reynolds about a previous incident where Shemane Watts had slit her wrists and how this could be a method to make a possible murder look like a “drug deal gone bad.” She said that Shemane had mentioned killing herself in front of her children.

“I want her ass gone,” Simpson is heard saying. “If there is a funeral for her, I’m not going to cry about it.”

Simpson described the way to cut the wrists by saying, “unless you cut diagonally, it doesn’t do squat.” She later added, “I want her to suffer.”

She also suggested a time for the hit to Reynolds, saying she was going to be in the hospital on Nov. 9, 2004, and would be in bed recovering for a week.

Jurors then saw and heard video of Reynolds’ second meeting with Simpson at the same location two days later. In that video, Simpson is seen handing Reynolds an envelope containing $2,000 for the hit to be carried out. She tells him she hasn’t touched the money. When asked if she had changed her mind, she replies, “Hell, no,” and says she “will lie under oath.” Several times, Simpson references Shemane Watts by saying she wants her “gone.”

Simpson is also heard inquiring about what it would take to make a former friend of hers, Clarice Thomas, “go away.” She said that Thomas beat her up in a bathroom after Thomas revealed to Simpson that she was a prostitute and Simpson called her a “whore.”

Later, Simpson again references Shemane Watts by saying, “She’s history. I don’t want someone to find her and save her.”

When asked by Christy Jack, the lead prosecutor in the case, if he believed that Simpson had just negotiated the deaths of two women, Reynolds said he did.

Simpson’s attorney, Ray Bass, questioned Reynolds on why he asked Simpson several times on the video if Simpson is going to back out. Reynolds said he wanted to give her several opportunities to back out, not because he had been told she was thinking about backing out.

Shemane Watts also testified Friday, saying Simpson had made many phone calls to both The Gym, which was owned by Danny Watts, and their cell phones. One of those calls to her husband’s phone, Shemane Watts said, included a reference to a sexual act.

According to Simpson’s phone records, The Gym’s phone number was seen more than 200 times from June through Oct. 13. On three different dates, the calls came after midnight. Shemane Watts also said Simpson would call her and tell her she’d “be gone like all the others.”

She said Simpson would also leave “sticky note” love letters for her husband and romantic cards on two occasions.

When asked why she didn’t go to the police about the harassment, Shemane Watts said she was scared of Simpson’s “power.”

Danny Watts’ ex-girlfriend, Jessica Tankursley Murphy of Decatur, also testified about a relationship between Danny Watts and Simpson during the time she was dating Watts for a few months in the early part of 2001.

“When I stayed the night, we would hear someone knock on the bedroom window ... around 3 or 4 a.m.,” she said, adding that it was Simpson outside.

Murphy said she broke up with Watts after discovering he had lied about not having an affair with Simpson. Photos Murphy had taken of Simpson’s vehicle outside Danny Watts’ home were shown to the jury.

On Wednesday, jurors heard from Kevin Cash of Bridgeport, the person Simpson first contacted about a possible murder for hire scheme. Cash said that after Simpson described how she was having a problem with someone harassing her, he advised her to follow proper legal procedures.

She interrupted me and said her husband was an attorney and she knew about the legal approach and that didn’t work for her,” Cash said.

Cash said he did not immediately go to police about his suspicions that Simpson wanted someone killed because he wanted to make sure he understood her correctly. When he was sure of her intentions, after a meeting at the Costco parking lot, Cash went to police.

He also described how officers instructed him to make a call to Simpson to set up a meeting with the undercover officer so that he would be removed from the situation. Jurors were able to hear that call which was recorded in Texas Ranger Dewayne Dockery’s office.

On Thursday, Bridgeport Lt. Steve Stanford testified about three different statements Simpson gave about an Oct. 13 fight at The Gym. He said on Oct. 14, she dictated a statement while he typed. As she was leaving, Stanford said Simpson said she was acting in self defense and added, “If I had a gun, it would be within my rights to use it. I wish I had a gun.”

Simpson dropped off another written statement on Oct. 25. The following day, she made several revisions to the statement. That is the same day prosecutors say Simpson first met with the undercover officer.

The trial, which began Tuesday, will resume Monday morning at the Tarrant County Justice Center in Fort Worth.