Gastonia Police make arrest in killing of man inside his home

A 55-year-old Gastonia man faces a first-degree murder charge in the death of another Gastonia man who was found dead in his home Aug. 4.

Kevin Ramon Mosby was booked into Gaston County Jail at 1:24 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 17, on a first-degree murder charge and an extradition/fugitive warrant from another state in the death of Donald Watts. He was not given a bond.

Police found Mosby in a hotel off Bessemer City Road, Gastonia Police spokesman Rick Goodale said Friday.

Watts, 48, was found in the early morning hours deceased in his home on the 700 block of Belfast Drive, near Shannon Bradley Road in west Gastonia, according to police. An exact cause of death will not be known until autopsy results are complete, but police say it appears Watts died of a stab wound.

Police say the investigation remains active and they still have questions to answer. They do not know how, or if, Mosby and Watts knew one another.

"There's still a lot of unknowns in this case," Goodale said.

Watts had five children, ranging from a first-grader to a 31-year-old daughter, said his brother Donyel Wright of Boston..

"He has all these kids and now they don't have a father," Wright said a day after the death of his brother. "He loved his family like you wouldn't believe."

Wright described his brother as being a good person who was always willing to help those he could.

"He was a great man who you would want to know," Wright said. "A great man you would want on your side."

Watts grew up in the Bessemer City and Kings Mountain areas.

Wright said he did not know why anyone would want to hurt his brother.

"Regardless of what happened to him, I want the person who did this to pay," Wright said.

Wright said he was anxious to hear what evidence police investigators find.

"I want to hear the truth," Wright said. "I will never hear this man tell me again that he loves me. When he said he loved you, you knew that he loved you."

This marks the eighth homicide in Gastonia this year.

You can reach Kevin Ellis at 704-201-7016 or email him at kellis@gastongazette.com.

This article originally appeared on The Gaston Gazette: Gastonia Police make arrest in killing of man inside his home