Jury Finds Montco Man Guilty of Murder in Death of Friend and Business Partner Jennifer Brown

Tony Di Domizio | North Penn Now•

Blair Anthony Watts, 33, of Royersford, left, and Jennifer Brown, 43, of Limerick, right.

A former Phoenixville restauranteur and "broke narcissist” will spend the rest of his life in prison for murdering his friend and business partner over $22,000 and a pile of secrets, and then burying her in a shallow grave in Royersford nearly a year ago.

Blair Anthony Watts, 33, of Limerick Township, was convicted Wednesday of first-degree murder following a six-day trial in connection to the death of Jennifer Brown, 43, of Limerick on Jan. 3, 2023, according to The Reporter. The jury rejected a third-degree murder charge that carried a 20- to 40-year prison sentence.

Upon the jury’s conviction, Judge William R. Carpenter immediately sentenced Watts to the mandatory life prison term, per the report. Watts did not testify at the trial, and defiantly told reporters, "I didn’t kill Jennifer Brown.”

Brown’s aunt, Diane Brehm, told The Reporter that justice was served.

"It will never bring her back, but at least I know he will never walk out and hurt another family again the way he has destroyed ours,” she said after the trial, according to the report.

First Assistant District Attorney Edward F. McCann Jr. and Deputy District Attorney Kelly S. Lloyd proved that Watts, represented by lawyer Michael Coard, was a narcissist and failed businessman who killed Brown when he feared she was going to reveal his immoral business dealings, including using her $22,600 investment in their proposed restaurant deal for personal expenses, according to the article.

"In court, I characterized him as a manipulator who lied and he was trying to hide on the surface who he was underneath, a broke narcissist who was always concerned about himself and his own image. I think that came out through the testimony and through all the evidence we showed in this case,” Lloyd said in the article.

Brown’s remains were discovered on Jan. 18 partially buried in a field behind a warehouse in Royersford, near Fifth and Chestnut streets. An autopsy on Brown, who lived on Stratford Court, was performed on Jan. 19, which noted she had three broken ribs with accompanying trauma, as well as bite marks to her tongue, investigators said. At that time, Forensic Pathologist Dr. Ian Hook left the cause and manner of death as undetermined pending the results of a toxicology report, according to the criminal complaint.

After reviewing the toxicology reports a week later, Dr. Hood opined the cause of death was homicide by unspecified means and the manner of death was homicide, the report states. Steele noted during the press conference there was no gunshot wound, stab wound, or toxic cause for Brown’s death.

According to the criminal complaint, Brown and Watts had plans to launch a restaurant named "Birdie’s Kitchen.” The complaint also notes that Brown had sent "$Birdieskitchen” $9,000 via CashApp at 4:23 p.m. on Jan. 3, and then a second transaction of $8,000 occurred via Zelle at 4:35 p.m., according to the complaint. Investigators noted that prior to the CashApp transfer, the two-step authentication feature had allegedly been switched from "on” to "off.”

Brown was reported missing in early January, which set off a search by friends, family, and police.

Investigators said Brown was supposed to pick up her son from the school bus stop during the afternoon of Jan. 4, however she never showed up. Her vehicle was later found parked outside of her home with her car keys, wallet, purse, and work cellphone located inside.

In a prior report by David Chang, Aaron Baskerville and Deanna Durante at NBC10, the last person to see Brown was Watts. Their report indicated that Watts was with Brown on Jan. 3 and took her 8-year-old son to his home for a sleepover that evening.

"I put Noah on the bus the next day,” Watts said, according to the NBC10 report, later adding that Brown never called him that evening to speak to him or her son. In an interview with NBC10 at the time of his arrest, Watts stated he had "nothing to do with anything,” and indicated he was frustrated with being "poked at.”