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- [00:01]
Wes Ferguson
This episode contains offensive language, including a racial slur. Listener discretion is advised.
- [00:08]
Jake Felt
Obviously, I was aware of the Shelley situation. Ashley's mother was killed and Jerry was indicted. I didn't really know much more than that. There was the things that you could kind of find online, which kind of very generic. You're so in love with this woman who became and is my wife that you have a desire to believe her family.
- [00:39]
Carol Dawson
We're on the phone with a former member of Jerry Mack Watkins inner circle.
- [00:44]
Wes Ferguson
Would you just say your name and then just tell us a little about yourself?
- [00:48]
Jake Felt
Yes. My name is Jake felt. I'm 36 years old. I am from Dallas, Texas. I am a oil and gas entrepreneur and I have two young boys.
- [00:59]
Carol Dawson
Jake Felt shares custody of his two sons with his wife, Ashley, the elder daughter of Shelly and Jerry Mack Watkins. Ashley was just four years old when her mother was killed. Her body packaged, weighed down and discarded in the Trinity River. Jerry Mack has always maintained his innocence in Shelley's death. He did not respond to our requests for an interview. Neither did Ashley.
- [01:28]
Jake Felt
This summer it will be the two year anniversary of when the first divorce process started. So we're just navigating our way through what has been an extremely messy process.
- [01:45]
Carol Dawson
We first contacted Jake several months ago and he agreed to talk off the record. After many long phone conversations, he changed his mind and has decided to go public with disturbing claims about his soon to be former father in law, Jerry Mack.
- [02:02]
Jake Felt
I've had 13 years to observe Jerry. Initially, I would have told you that Jerry was just a hard working, blue collar, kind of good old boy that was caught in a really unfortunate situation the entire family has been forced to endure for a long time. The more that I was around him and the more we bonded and I became part of the family, he let his guard down. That's when I really saw Jerry Watkins for who he is.
- [02:34]
Carol Dawson
My name is Carol Dawson and I'm Wes Ferguson.
- [02:39]
Wes Ferguson
You're listening to the Unforgotten. Season one, the Labor Day Ghost.
- [02:45]
Carol Dawson
Chapter nine. Jake.
- [02:57]
Jake Felt
Yeah, so Ashley and I, we met at Texas Tech. I can remember vividly as if it were yesterday. She attracted me in ways that clearly no one else had done before. It wasn't just her natural beauty. She's who I wanted to be with. She's who I wanted to spend my time with. I just think there was a certain level of comfort that we had that we had never experienced with someone else. And really, for the first time, you felt a certain level of purpose in just everything you did because you felt like you were doing it for someone else. I mean, I'm not exaggerating. It was probably within the next three or four months. I told her, I'm going to marry you. We were really inseparable for the next. Gosh, I guess it's almost been 13 years. One of the things that I've heard people say about her mother is when she walked in her room, people kind of noticed. And I think that Ashley's the same way. And it's not just because of how pretty she is. I think she's just naturally a very kind person. If it weren't for some of the things that she's gone through, everybody would see her for exactly who she is. But I think that's. It's. That's sometimes hard. I mean, there's got to be a natural concern of. I mean, when you meet somebody, what do these people know about me? What do they think? What have they heard? The first time I ever met Jerry and K, it was in lck. Ash's little sister was having a birthday dinner. They rented out a whole back room at the steakhouse. I remember Jerry sat down a couple chairs down for me, kind of said hello, but was not very welcoming. The conversation throughout the entirety of this dinner has kind of been me asking you questions, you know, very generic. How long are you all in town? So I hear you're in the construction business. You know, stuff like that. It was just very. Yeah, yeah, sure. And then kind of the first question he actually asked me was, you smoke? No. But at least he engaged a little bit. One of my first times back to Corsicana, Ashley had kind of told me, yeah, we have a pretty nice house. It's pretty. And we live on some acreage I'll never forget. We pull around the corner, and I look ahead and I see this giant house. And then as we get closer, there's this big front gate you have to go through. And then I'm like, wait, is that a yes? That is a motorhome. There's a massive motorhome sitting out front. I was like, oh, my God, this looks like Ricky Bobby's house. It was a little odd in kind of a mystery as to why they weren't very welcoming. I don't know if I've ever really gotten an answer for that, because it's almost like my. My presence wasn't acknowledged. No questions, no conversation. Which was the polar opposite of what I would imagine, how they would embrace someone that their daughter was clearly, openly in love with. But like I said, it took a very Drastic change within probably a year or so. And it transitioned into, this is the greatest, smartest guy we've ever met. Ashley and I kind of started dating towards the end of my final year at Texas Tech. And then I was gone, and I was working, just getting into the business. You know, in the oil patch, you kind of have to pay your dues. I kind of lived out of my truck and in hotel rooms. But I made sure that every Friday I was back in L. And I was with her. And that would continue all the way up until, you know, we got married in. In 2014. We got married in Aspen on top of the. The. The mountain. It was an absolutely perfect day. Blue skies, perfect temperatures. The pictures don't even look real. Jerry gave a very lengthy and interesting speech. You know, he kind of started out with, like, a inappropriate joke and then act like he was going to walk off. Something about elephants mating and the noises they would make. And he better not hear any of that coming from our room or something. Everybody's kind of looking at each other like, I guess that's maybe kind of funny, but not really. It was clear that he had probably taken a few Xanax before and had a few crowning water. So it was, like, kind of slurring through a bunch of. Just jargon of nothing.
- [07:39]
Interviewer
How long did this speech go on?
- [07:41]
Jake Felt
Oh, gosh, Carol. I bet it was. I bet it was 45 minutes. They were supposed to serve dinner after, I guess the speech concluded. The wedding planner finally just got to the point, like, I'm not waiting anymore. So they just started bringing out the food. When we got married, we settled in Midland, and that's. That's when I really started and kicked off my own businesses. I very quickly learned what to talk to Jerry about in order to kind of spark his interest. And that was business. As I've kind of understood Jerry more and more, Something that I've realized that I will give him credit for, that he's been very smart about is Jerry. Jerry has never even flirted with the idea of stepping outside of his lane. He's never gonna put himself in a situation that. That he can't handle. And he's very disciplined about that. He does not step outside of that Corsicana environment slash culture. And within that certain environment and who he has positioned himself to be in that environment, I don't think anybody's going to hold him accountable. Why Jerry does what he does, thinks what he thinks, and even applies, you know, ethical and moral decisions as far as what is right and what is Wrong, I think boils down to two things. Number one, does it benefit me and my own self interest? And number two, do I want it? That's the. The foundation of how Jerry operates. You know, Jerry and I were. Were close for a while. Whether it was business, cars, planes. I knew if I talked about those things, he would engage. We didn't talk about family a lot. Jerry did not talk to his siblings.
- [09:34]
Interviewer
What about Jerry's own immediate family?
- [09:39]
Jake Felt
You know, it initially, everything seemed very like. Like you would hope it would. Kay was great. He loved his daughters more than anything. He did anything for them. But I would say over time, how I saw all of that deteriorated. Everything was so incredibly superficial in his gestures of love that I started to see through the, you know, attempts to. To display his sincerity and true love for them as an attempt to control more than anything, new cars, watches, things, items. Jerry was diagnosed with cancer, I think it was in 2019. It didn't seem like he was going to make it. Midway through the process of him going through his treatment and whatnot, Ashley and I were talking about getting actually a new car. And I got a call from him one day, and he said, hey, if it's okay with you, I would like to buy Ashley's new car. I just want her to have something to. To remember me by. And I remember thinking it was one of the oddest things that I'd ever heard, like a car. It just. It didn't make sense to me. I just started laughing and I said, I don't think you need to buy her a car if you want her to remember you. Quickly, within, you know, a couple of years, it became an issue on how disrespectful he treated Kay.
- [11:23]
Carol Dawson
Kay, you'll recall, was Shelly's friend who married Jerry Mack after Shelly's death and adopted their two daughters.
- [11:31]
Jake Felt
It's almost like he made it a point to do it in front of others. Just completely humiliate her. And essentially, it wasn't necessarily a belittling or any kind of verbal abuse. It was like she wasn't even there. He would ask Jerry a question, he wouldn't even look at her. It didn't matter how many times she said it. It didn't matter if she raised her voice, literally tapped him on the shoulder, it didn't matter. Jerry tried to explain it to me one time, and he kind of, in a roundabout way, mentioned, you know, well, she just did something that was so terrible, it's hard for me to even say, we are at Jerry's ranch and we're in an atv, like a, like a Polaris Ranger or something. He would start bringing up Kay's first husband and he starts to eventually talk about a particular body part of Dennis's in an envious manner and that he essentially was harassing K about this. And I think she had just had enough. She finally commented on this in such a way that he didn't approve of. This is going on and I'm sitting there telling myself like, Jake, don't start laughing, don't start laughing. I've heard him say on multiple occasions, the only reason I don't leave that bitch is so she doesn't have any of my money. I mean, he had no problem saying that in front of people that he really didn't even know that. Well, it was very eye opening, just the audacity to say those things and make it public, but not even, not even have a concern or an awareness about you that some people not might not be okay with that. It's like it didn't even register that filter, like just didn't exist with him. It wouldn't even require any kind of deep conversation. It could almost just be like a casual off the cuff comment, which made it even more bizarre. There's specifically one instance when Kay was just in Midland visiting and we were drinking some wine one night. She became very open about some things that she was struggling with that Jerry was difficult and, and I mean, I'll never forget when she was leaving, she put her arm around me, she was clearly crying and she just said, I'm, I'm so scared to go home now. I don't want anyone to think that I'm insinuating that she was fearful of her life or there was like a fear that there would be any physical harm. I think it was more of, I'm just fearful of having to endure the day to day bs, you know, just taking its toll emotionally on her.
- [14:44]
Wes Ferguson
Did Jerry ever talk about Ashley in a way you felt was inappropriate?
- [14:57]
Jake Felt
There was one time that he was, again, it was just so nonchalant. He was describing a woman and he was being somewhat detailed about her physical appearance. And he said, yeah, just built perfectly, got a perfect ass. And you know, and just kind of hesitated for a second. He goes, you know, he's, she's kind of really, she's, she's built a lot like Ashley. And I just remember thinking, what, like, what are you talking about? Your validation of this girl being attractive was, well, she's kind of built like Ashley, who's your daughter. It's Just. It's just bizarre. This happened several years ago. I remember it very specifically. I'll never forget the first time that I've kind of started to question who Jerry was. Jerry and I were. We're sitting in my backyard. It was, you know, probably 2017, and it was. It was cold outside. We're having some drinks, sitting by the fire, and Jerry proceeds to tell me that he had slept. And he's telling me this not as a confession or any kind of feeling of guilt, but almost in a bragging manner, as if, you know, it's kind of locker room talk, as if he's telling me a funny story. And I remember looking him in the eye and thinking, this guy is capable of anything. This person has no remorse. The normal aspects of right and wrong and just any kind of moral foundation that people apply to their decision making is not present in this man.
- [16:53]
Carol Dawson
On the advice of legal counsel and to protect privacy, we are withholding the identity of the person with whom Jerry Mack allegedly bragged about having sex. Such a relationship, if true, would be deemed profoundly inappropriate. He was not referring to either of his daughters.
- [17:14]
Jake Felt
Not too long after, something about came up. We were driving, and Gary kind of started laughing and said, you know, one of these days I got something to tell you. You know, insinuating what it was. And I said, I know. You already told me, and he's already told you about that. I said, yeah. And I just remember thinking, what kind of person can possibly forget telling someone that? I didn't say anything for a long time, even though I've been kind of struggling with it internally. There have been several instances where Ashley had asked me, what's. What's wrong? Like, I can tell you're just not yourself. Know what is going on. I could feel this weight affecting things at home. And so I walked outside and I called my parents. My dad said, jake, she's your wife, and you gotta be honest with her. So that's what I did. And, yeah, it didn't really go the way I thought. Complete denial. Like, no, that. That never happened. You're just making that up. That was very surprising to me, because if someone told me that about my father, you would receive a very strong reaction from me. I think at that point in time, I kind of became the bad guy a little bit, which was very confusing to me. But at the same time, throughout the. The entirety of her marriage, one of the things that I. I don't think that I really acknowledged was that I was never sensitive to the fact that Ashley had gone through Levels of trauma that I could not understand. And I don't think I did a good enough job as her husband realizing that, being thoughtful and compassionate to the level I should have been. And I think that my ignorance, you know, led to me in making me angry, you know, because I just, I didn't understand why she handled some of these things the way she did. I mean, all you have to realize is this was a precious, innocent little heart in mind that her mother was suddenly taken from her in a moment's time. The way in which she was taken, the way in which she was found, and the way in which all of the mystery surrounding the situation was concealed from Ashley throughout her entire life. I have a six year old right now and if something were to happen to his mother in the way that it happened to Shelley, and I just swept it under the rug and act like it never happened and kind of forbid anyone to talk about it, I just can't imagine the trauma that that would cause.
- [20:23]
Interviewer
Do you think Ashley got any kind of support when she was in that position as a young child?
- [20:31]
Jake Felt
I can with, with a high level of confidence, tell you that Ashley never received any professional support, whether it be therapy or, you know, any kind of psychologist or the things you would, you would hope that a young child who experienced such trauma would be provided. And that leaves them in a space where they're forced to deal with everything, all of these emotions and this confusion surrounding the death of their mother, they're forced to deal with it by themselves. To me, that's criminal within itself. I can't fathom that.
- [21:13]
Interviewer
I can't either. But why do you think they tricked it that way?
- [21:17]
Jake Felt
I think that they saw that as a risk. I don't think they wanted any kind of professional, whether it be a therapist or a psychologist speaking to Ashley about the events surrounding Shelley in case she was aware of something sense, something that she may reveal that they didn't want revealed.
- [21:46]
Carol Dawson
Jake is just speculating right now. But as a young girl who'd recently lost her mother, Ashley was included on a list of prospective witnesses in the criminal case against her father.
- [22:00]
Jake Felt
Five and six year olds retain everything. And so whether it was a conversation she ever heard, something she saw, or just her natural intuition on in her perception of what was going on, I think her speaking to outsiders about those details could potentially be threatening to them. Shelly was not discussed. And at home over a 13 year period of time. I can't remember ever hearing Shelley's name spoken of, at least in the family setting. And I think that until recently, I really. I couldn't have told you anything about Shelley. I mean, other than she. She was a beautiful woman that resembled my wife. Recently, I've kind of even questioned myself, like, why did y' all never talk about that? Why didn't you pursue any conversations about something that had become such a big part of your wife's life, whether for the good or for the bad? I was always told that one of the reasons that Jerry or anyone within the family wasn't initially worried immediately following her disappearance, because that wasn't uncommon. It wasn't uncommon for her to disappear for a couple nights at a time and be in Dallas or something, which I have now realized is completely false. As she would tell me things that she remembered about her mom and just none of them were positive. She was drunk and she walked away and never came back. Like. Like someone is telling her these things. And it became very clear to me that I don't know if anyone ever told her that directly, but I think there was a strong insinuation within the family that that's the way she was, that's what's what happened. And therefore, that's how Ashley became to view her mother. And as I started to realize that things aren't adding up, this does not make sense to me. I don't know if I ever really knew how to have an in depth conversation with Ashley about it without causing her to become angry. Because it was almost like I was opening up a wound that in a way, they had already kind of answered. Like they kind of created this world where Kay had kind of filled that void. Kay also puts off this perception of being the most Christian and sweetest woman in all of Corsicana. Yet she was best friends with this woman who was, you know, not a good mother, not present, loose cannon, drank too much. As time went on, I realized that, wait, something doesn't seem right here, but not to the extent that it was really something that I felt that I would have a conversation with Ashley about, because it was something that we would not agree on. It's kind of like, hey, I think everything you've been told is a lie. For a period of time. I would. I would say confidently, jerry felt more comfortable with me than anybody else in his life. It took a drastic change. There was a particular and very specific instance that transpired shortly after our second was born. We were in Midland. We were at home. And I don't remember what came up, but Jerry started saying things that I wasn't okay with. He was just, you know, kind of Laughing, saying oh, you know, those stupid this and that. He was just being extremely racist in front of my mother, my children and my wife in our home. It was also following the whole situation and it just started to build up and I just, and I loved it. I let him have it. I wasn't shouting. I had a raised voice that did not sound very kind. Something along the lines of, you know, get the out of my house. I don't know who you think you are that you can talk that way in from my family and my kids. He's not a sorry or piece of that I've ever met than you. Something along those lines. I looked around and my sister in law and Ashley's heads and Kane as well. They were just kind of looking down at the ground. And I realized that, you know, the way Jake, the way you're handling this is inappropriate. You need to stop. So I just remember I stopped and I stood up and I walked off. From that point on, our relationship was never the same. There was no hiding how I truly felt. Our check ins with each other became much less frequent. The amount of time we would spend with each other when we would be in town, trips to the ranch to go play around and target shoot or hunt pigs or whatever we may, may do, those, those trips become less frequent. I think that anytime he would say something that I disagreed with, I, you know, there was probably a certain level of immaturity mixed in there at the time that I had a hard time keeping my mouth shut. I made my opinion known and I did a poor job of just kind of shrugging things off with Ashley. I think it was just kind of a slow, continual process that became worse over time. I think she cared very deeply about receiving their approval. And I think that became very difficult because of my situation and how I felt about Jerry. To be honest with you. I think I told myself what I'm doing and what I'm standing up for is the right thing. Therefore it doesn't matter how I go about it. And that was just wrong.
- [28:15]
Interviewer
There are many people in Corsicana who don't want to be on record about any of this and who have remained silent for many years. Instead of taking any sort of a moral stand about it, they have just sort of shrugged their shoulders or they have not wanted to commit. Even though privately they have always repeatedly said to themselves and to other people, I know this firsthand, that they were convinced that Jerry Mack Watkins killed his wife, Shelly Watkins.
- [28:55]
Jake Felt
You know, one of the things that I've continually heard is, you know, the only reason that I. I stick around and I continue to be involved is for the girls. And I can tell you for a fact that that's the reality is, is you're doing it for your own self interests, whether it be because of how you would be viewed in the community or because it would affect your business. You are making a conscious choice to turn your back on what you know is the right thing, and you're doing it to fulfill your own self interest and telling yourself otherwise. As I've become aware of the. The. The evidence, I just apply the common sense reality. If my wife, who I love, the mother of my children, goes missing, your initial thought is, I need to go get the tires changed. And These tires are 10 months old, and I need to travel on the opposite side of town two hours to the south to replace the trunk. And I guess originally I just thought that the trunk got cleaned, like you would have a carpet cleaned or something. Now I become aware that, no, it wasn't cleaned. Essentially, the trunk was replaced. And while your wife is missing, you are actually going around and telling people, don't worry. Don't go look for her. You don't need to. She'll be back. And while you are telling people this, you are using your own resources to take her car all over the eastern part of Texas to cover your tracks. You don't report her missing. You report her missing to your best friend. If I. My best friend was in law enforcement, a police officer, I'm very confident that he would not only file a missing persons report, but he would make sure that every single person in law enforcement in that part of the. In that county knew that my wife is missing. All hands on deck. Let's go. Yes. Nothing. Nothing. And then you go through life and you have these precious little girls, and you make a conscious choice not to make sure they're okay, not to provide them with the help and everything else. They need. Nothing. And the only thing that you ever tell them is that, yeah, essentially your mother, you know, she had too much drink, she made bad choices, she walked off, and she never came back. I think any of us, as a man going through a divorce and has, you know, been dealing with a very difficult time and hardships in connection with his wife. I know that if something, God forbid, happened, Ashley, tomorrow, that the only thing I would ever tell them, which would be true, was your mother was amazing. She was beautiful, and she loved y' all more than anything in the world. And that's what I would tell them. That's the only thing they would ever hear from me. That's the only thing they should ever hear from me. Ashley never heard that, not once. To me, that says it all. One of the things they, they, my youngest one asked me recently was, daddy, why do you have a problem with Diddy? That's what they call Jerry. And I was like, oh man, here we go. I said, you know, buddy, I just have a problem with some choices that he has, he has made. And if it's something you want to talk about when you get older, we can talk about it, but not right now. And I think that's, that's, that's the best I can do right now. Because someday if they want to talk about it, we can talk about it. I want to make sure to provide them with the tools to become healthy, educated, thoughtful, loving, and, you know, morally sound men. That they'll be able to think through some of these things, these facts and these details and that they will be able to come to their own opinions. And they know that if they want to talk to their dad about something, that I'm here, I'll talk to them. And they know I'm going to shoot them straight. I've even told this to Ashley, is that if your father has the ability to influence my children whatsoever, I will feel that I have failed. My just kind of willingness to fight. It's coming from a dad of two little boys that I feel that I need to protect. And I think the greatest threat to their well being at this point in their lives is Jerry. Because I think he will do everything he can to mold and manipulate, to implement his control over them just like he did his two little girls. What for me was the most damning evidence against Jerry had nothing to do with the actual evidence. What was damning to me about Jerry was that I knew who he was and I knew that that man was capable of anything. That is what made me start questioning Jerry. It had nothing to do with the evidence. It had to do with me getting to know the man. We can't be certain about anything, but I have absolutely no question that he killed Shelly Watkins.
- [35:39]
Wes Ferguson
Thank you for listening to the Unforgotten. Get updates, photos, case files and more when you sign up for our newsletter@unforgottenpod.com the Unforgotten is a free range production. Season 1 the Labor Day Ghost is created, written and hosted by Carol Dawson and me, Wes Ferguson. I'm the executive producer here at Free Range. Audio recording, editing and mixing by Austin Sisler at Eastside Studios in Austin, Texas. Scored by Austin Sisler and Jamie Cummins. Our theme song, ghost, is written and performed by Corsicana's own Will Mechatron Jones. If you support our efforts to shine a new light on Shelly Watkins Cold Case, please, like, subscribe, give us a review and tell your friends. Thanks again and see you soon.