Dumpster on the 12200 block of Fondren Road, behind the Cobbleston Village Apartments. Among the items located were Elena’s purple pants, her car keys, her gold belt, three rings, and her sister Maria’s rabbit fur coat.
One month later, on March 19, 1982, Coral Watts moved out of his apartment on Sylvan Road and into a new apartment complex located at the 300 block of Sunnyside Street. He listed a “Sheila D. Watts,” or Shelia Williams, as his wife and roommate. Williams had a daughter whom Watts listed as a resident as well.
CHAPTER 15
At fourteen, Emily Elizabeth LaQua was more mature than people twice her age. Or so she thought. Like most teenagers, Emily believed she was older than she really was. Or at least she wanted to be older.
Emily was born on October 4, 1967, in Moscow, Idaho, originally known as Paradise Valley, located just northwest of the Nez Perce National Historical Park, also on the border of the state of Washington, to parents Frank and Elizabeth. She was the second of three children, including her older sister, Geraldine, and a younger brother, Franklin junior.
The family moved to Seattle, Washington, when Emily was two. When they arrived at their new home, Emily’s mother was stricken with pneumonia. Even as a two-year-old, Emily was a caregiver as she helped while her mother lay prone in bed.
Five years later, when her sister, Geraldine, had thirteen various surgeries, Emily participated fully in her recovery by cleaning up around the house and cooking. She seemed destined to try and make other people feel comfortable.
Emily was also very creative. When she was four years
104 Corey Mitchell
old, she won first prize at the county fair for a floral arrangement.
As Emily grew up, she became a social butterfly. She joined the Bluebirds, a group for young girls similar to Girl Scouts, and routinely sold the most cookies each year due to her outgoing personality and ability to make others trust her.
After Emily’s parents got divorced, her father moved almost twenty-five hundred miles away to tiny Brookshire, Texas, located smack-dab in the middle of Houston and Columbus, about thirty-seven miles west of downtown Houston and about thirty-seven miles east of Columbus. Elizabeth, Emily, Geraldine, and Franklin junior stayed put in Washington. To make ends meet for the low-income family, Elizabeth LaQua was forced to work two jobs. As a result, a lot of the household chores and family
responsibilities fell on Emily’s shoulders.
Elizabeth LaQua stated that her daughter was an active participant in school, church, and at home. She described Emily as “an intelligent girl” who excelled in school. She enjoyed writing poetry, participating in ballet, and ice-skating. Emily’s mother also described her youngest daughter as a polite young woman. “She had the social graces of a cultured Boston lady,” her mother poignantly recalled, “with an old-fashioned name that fit her perfectly.”
Emily was also an accomplished musician, who played cello in the school orchestra. She also helped out at the First Baptist Church in Bellevue, Washington, where she was a class assistant for the younger children in Sunday school. She also worked with the mentally challenged parishioners in the special-education classes.
At home, she helped out with her younger brother, Franklin, who was “retarded,” or mentally challenged.
EVIL EY ES 105
Emily’s mother appreciated her daughter’s help with Franklin, whom she described as a “handful.”
“Emily accepted too much responsibility too young,” her mother recalled, “and wanted to be eighteen years old when she was only fourteen.”
Emily’s need to appear more mature began two years earlier, when she was only twelve years old and in the seventh grade. She began to hang out with people her mother considered to be from the “wrong crowd.” The wild group of teenagers helped lead Emily astray. She began staying out late at nights,
One month later, on March 19, 1982, Coral Watts moved out of his apartment on Sylvan Road and into a new apartment complex located at the 300 block of Sunnyside Street. He listed a “Sheila D. Watts,” or Shelia Williams, as his wife and roommate. Williams had a daughter whom Watts listed as a resident as well.
CHAPTER 15
At fourteen, Emily Elizabeth LaQua was more mature than people twice her age. Or so she thought. Like most teenagers, Emily believed she was older than she really was. Or at least she wanted to be older.
Emily was born on October 4, 1967, in Moscow, Idaho, originally known as Paradise Valley, located just northwest of the Nez Perce National Historical Park, also on the border of the state of Washington, to parents Frank and Elizabeth. She was the second of three children, including her older sister, Geraldine, and a younger brother, Franklin junior.
The family moved to Seattle, Washington, when Emily was two. When they arrived at their new home, Emily’s mother was stricken with pneumonia. Even as a two-year-old, Emily was a caregiver as she helped while her mother lay prone in bed.
Five years later, when her sister, Geraldine, had thirteen various surgeries, Emily participated fully in her recovery by cleaning up around the house and cooking. She seemed destined to try and make other people feel comfortable.
Emily was also very creative. When she was four years
104 Corey Mitchell
old, she won first prize at the county fair for a floral arrangement.
As Emily grew up, she became a social butterfly. She joined the Bluebirds, a group for young girls similar to Girl Scouts, and routinely sold the most cookies each year due to her outgoing personality and ability to make others trust her.
After Emily’s parents got divorced, her father moved almost twenty-five hundred miles away to tiny Brookshire, Texas, located smack-dab in the middle of Houston and Columbus, about thirty-seven miles west of downtown Houston and about thirty-seven miles east of Columbus. Elizabeth, Emily, Geraldine, and Franklin junior stayed put in Washington. To make ends meet for the low-income family, Elizabeth LaQua was forced to work two jobs. As a result, a lot of the household chores and family
responsibilities fell on Emily’s shoulders.
Elizabeth LaQua stated that her daughter was an active participant in school, church, and at home. She described Emily as “an intelligent girl” who excelled in school. She enjoyed writing poetry, participating in ballet, and ice-skating. Emily’s mother also described her youngest daughter as a polite young woman. “She had the social graces of a cultured Boston lady,” her mother poignantly recalled, “with an old-fashioned name that fit her perfectly.”
Emily was also an accomplished musician, who played cello in the school orchestra. She also helped out at the First Baptist Church in Bellevue, Washington, where she was a class assistant for the younger children in Sunday school. She also worked with the mentally challenged parishioners in the special-education classes.
At home, she helped out with her younger brother, Franklin, who was “retarded,” or mentally challenged.
EVIL EY ES 105
Emily’s mother appreciated her daughter’s help with Franklin, whom she described as a “handful.”
“Emily accepted too much responsibility too young,” her mother recalled, “and wanted to be eighteen years old when she was only fourteen.”
Emily’s need to appear more mature began two years earlier, when she was only twelve years old and in the seventh grade. She began to hang out with people her mother considered to be from the “wrong crowd.” The wild group of teenagers helped lead Emily astray. She began staying out late at nights,
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