On November 12, 1984, sometime after 2:00 PM, an eleven-year-old girl disappeared. The last person to see her alive was her mother. Her body was found five days later in a field in Hancock County, Indiana. She had been stabbed to death. There was also evidence of semen found. The victim was Jerry Watkin's sister-in-law. Not long before the incident, family members had suspected that Watkins had been molesting the victim and another relative.

Semen taken from the victim was analyzed and found to have a B indicator, suggesting a B or AB donor (Watkins was O). However, the lab technician thought the B indicator could have been the result of a contamination. Witness Dennis Ackeret, a professional jailhouse snitch, testified to a tearful confession by Watkins while the two were in the same holding cell.

Watkins had an alibi for the day of the disappearance. He was at work continuously from after his lunch break, which ended at 11:30 AM, to 3:30 PM., when his wife picked him up. The two drove around running errands until approximately 7:00 PM. when they attended a church revival. They then went straight to the home of relatives, where they learned of the victim's absence.

Watkins had also passed a polygraph test. A DNA test was requested and DQ Alpha testing was performed, which indicated that Watkins could not have been the sole donor, if he was a donor at all, which was deemed unlikely. This was not seen as sufficient evidence for a new trial, however, as the judge ruled it was an extension of the serology findings made during the 1987 trial. Three witnesses, one who testified at trial and two more discovered afterwards, gave sworn affidavits that Ackeret, the snitch, admitted to them that he was lying. There were numerous other problems with Ackeret's testimony that came to light after trial - including suspicious contact with the police in the time leading up to his testimony. Also, there were other suspects that were being investigated, a fact not revealed to the defense or the jury at the time of trial. Known to the prosecution was Jonathan Barger, who testified to witnessing the abduction of the victim at a time when Watkins was accounted for and in a van Watkins did not own. There was even testimony by a man who claimed to be in the van and to witness or know of the murder by another man.

The results from the original DQ Alpha testing done after trial was a partial inclusion that suggested that Watkins was either a co-ejaculator or was not the perpetrator at all. Later STR based DNA testing was performed on the same evidence and exculpated Watkins.

Watkins was granted a hearing on the basis of these findings. The prosecution appealed and performed their own testing. Replicate testing by the state yielded the same results and prosecutors dropped their case against Watkins in the summer of 2000.