Toledo man indicted on murder charges

1/23/2013

A man accused in the stabbing death and mutilation of a woman this month was indicted by a Lucas County grand jury on a charge of murder.

James Millard Day, Sr., 66, of 2519 Auburn Ave., is accused in the death of Joan Watson, 49, who was found naked and mutilated on the kitchen floor of her second-story West Sylvania Avenue apartment on Jan. 13. If convicted, he faces up to life in prison.

Day, who served time in prison for the 1974 stabbing death of a woman, is in custody in lieu of $1 million bond.

Although Ms. Watson’s body was badly mutilated, she died of a sharp-force injury — a slice wound — to her neck, authorities said.

Her left breast was cut off and she was missing tissue from the front left side of her pelvis, police said. She also suffered multiple superficial stab wounds; she did not have any defense wounds.

The wounds were inflicted around the time of death, although it’s not clear how long Ms. Watson had been dead before she was found by a neighbor, authorities said.