Man on trial for child rape found dead in submerged car in Pasco
A 46-year-old Pasco man was found dead inside a silver SUV a day after testimony began in his trial for child rape and molestation.
Jason P. Watts was discovered in the car near the Chiawana Park boat launch early Friday. Prosecutor Shawn Sant confirmed that Pasco police notified him later in the morning.
Watts has been out of custody on $200,000 bail while he faced charges of first-, second- and third-degree child molestation as well as third-degree child rape. He was accused of abusing the victim for about a decade.
After three years, prosecutors and his defense attorney presented opening statements on Thursday, and witnesses started testifying.
Watts didn’t show up Friday morning for the second day of testimony, Sant confirmed. He was notified later by police that Watts was dead.
“Jason Watts was a gentleman who was working through some challenges in his life,” his attorney Michael Davidson told the Tri-City Herald. “My condolences to his family who mourn his loss.”
A fisherman spotted the silver SUV in the river at the boat launch off Road 88 about 8 a.m. on Friday, said Pasco police Capt. Bill Parramore.
Columbia Basin Dive Rescue divers were called in, and they confirmed a body was inside, Parramore said.
The murky conditions made it hard to determine anything about the person in the water, Parramore said. Investigators put a camera into the water to get a clearer picture of the situation before they were able to pull out the SUV.
An official with the coroner’s office had no information on if an autopsy was planned.
Earlier on Friday, Parramore said they planned to treat the investigation as a possible homicide until they gathered more information.
Anyone in the Chiawana Park area Friday morning or with information about the vehicle is asked to call the non-emergency dispatch number at 509-628-0333 or Pasco police at 509-545-3421 and reference case number 26-005017.
This story was originally published February 27, 2026 at 10:56 AM.