Auburn couple faces murder charges

WVAS | By Melanie Hogan

Published February 5, 2024 at 2:00 PM EST

An Auburn couple has been charged with felony murder in the death of their six-year-old son who died a year ago.

Action 8 News reported, on June 14, 2023, police and fire medics were called to the 2200 block of Core Drive after getting a call that a child was in medical distress.

Investigators report the child appeared to be extremely malnourished weighing about 21 pounds. Noting the boy sustained prolonged willful abuse and maltreatment.

Auburn police arrested the boy’s father, 53-year-old Mark Edward Watford yesterday after a grand jury indicted him. He is being held without bond.

The boy’s mother, Kelly West Watford was arrested on a felony murder charge in June according to police.

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Melanie Hogan

Melanie began her career as a work study student, working in the areas of news reporting, anchoring and news-gathering. After graduating from Alabama State University, she worked as a production assistant at the local NBC affiliate, WSFA-TV. As a News Director at WVAS-FM, Melanie leads her team to produce award- winning newscasts and talk shows. Her professional achievements includes News Reporter of the Year for a number of years and awards for talk show producer, by the Alabama Broadcasters Association and the Associated Press. She is an active member of the Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce. Her goals are to expand the reach of WVAS FM into more homes locally, regionally and nationally.

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