Crime Stoppers, family offer reward leading to arrest in Kimberly Watts murder case

Mississippi Coast Crime Stoppers is offering a $5,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest in the 2014 murder case of a Long Beach woman.

Kimberly Jo “Kim” Watts, a divorced mother of one who worked as a nurse, was found dead at her Long Beach home in 2014.

Investigators believe someone shut off a circuit breaker to prevent Watts from entering her home through the garage. Instead, she used the front door and was stabbed in the heart and shoulder and strangled, according to records filed in the case.

No one has been charged in her death. Long Beach initially handled the investigation, but turned it over to Harrison County Sheriff’s Department in 2017 after George Bass, the victim’s brother-in-law, became mayor.

Bass was the family member who found Watts after his wife asked him to check on his sister-in-law.

The reward comes from a $2,500 contribution from the family and $2,500 from Crime Stoppers, said Lori Massey, executive director of the organization.

Anyone with information can reach out to Crime Stoppers through the website or the P3 Tips app.