WNY native killed days before wedding

CHARLOTTE, N.Y. (WIVB) - A pregnant Lockport native has been murdered in North Carolina, and her killer remains on the run.

Danielle Watson, 25, was on the phone with her fiance when he says there was commotion and the line went dead. The woman’s body was found near a dumpster over the weekend.

“I cannot think about it. This guy killed both my babies,” said Keith Smith, Danielle Watson’s fiance. “I don't think this guy realized what he did. He took two lives. He took three. He took mine.”

Watson was finishing up her shift as a manager at the Flying Biscuit, a restaurant in Charlotte, North Carolina.

That night police responded to a robbery at the restaurant. The following morning, a garbage truck driver found Watson's body next to a dumpster in the shopping center.

Charlotte Police believe 22-year-old Mark Anthony Cox, a cook at the Flying Biscuit, stole money from the restaurant's safe, killed Watson, and then stole her 1997 blue Chevy Cavalier.

He had only been working at the Flying Biscuit since November, when he was released from prison after serving three years for armed robbery.

Danielle Watsons’ parents David and Denise spoke out after the murder. David Watson said, “After he left my daughter, he took her car. I guess he got maybe $2,600, at the most, out of the safe. I guess he went home, where he lives with his parents, across the street, and his sister. What I hear is that he told his sister what happened.

Denise Watson said, “He just said he did something really bad.”

The Lockport native had everything in life to look forward to. She was to be married next weekend and was two months pregnant with her first child.

The suspect has still not been found.

Watson and her then-boyfriend, visited here last year, and just a few days ago, she called to share the news about her pregnancy.