KAILUA-KONA — The death of Johnathan Watson, 49, of Ocean View has left his family confused as police continue looking for answers.
Police think Watson shot himself in the leg April 25 at his home and called for help. When officers arrived, they said he came out in an aggressive manner and attacked them.
Watson’s father and stepmother, Noel and Laurie Watson of Phoenix, did not find out about the incident until April 29, when a friend sent them a link to the story on the West Hawaii Today website, asking “is this your son?”
“It was,” Laurie Watson said, although it had been years since they’d seen him.
“Why did he call police and attack them?” she asked.
That is a question police investigators are trying to answer.
Maj. Mitchell Kanehailua said “it was pretty unexpected for the officers.” They expected to help someone when they arrived at Watson’s home that morning.
Officers took Watson to the ground and handcuffed him, all the while he continued yelling. He then suddenly stopped and the officers realized he was in distress, Kanehailua said, so they removed the handcuffs and began to administer CPR, but attempts to revive him were unsuccessful.
Protocol for deaths is for police to inform next of kin, said Kanehailua. In this case, Watson’s mother, Judith Taggerty, was a clerk for the Police Department who retired about five years ago. The detectives took it upon themselves to tell her, Kanehailua said.
Johnathan Watson was well-regarded by the people who knew him in Ocean View for his skills as a handyman and equipment operator.
He was also an avid fisherman, Laurie Watson remembers. His home has two full-sized fishing boats parked outside, which his neighbors recall watching him build.
When he was younger, he bought a 26-foot Boston Whaler and rebuilt it, including decking and the engine.
“He told me he would bring me home a 500-pound marlin,” Laurie Watson remembered. “I said that’s bigger than your boat.”
He did, although he needed the help of another vessel to get the massive fish into port.
He lived with his father and stepmother for years, going to school and working with his grandmother at her janitorial company. He would get up at 3 or 4 a.m. to start work, including clearing out grease traps of restaurants, a task he would go about doing with a smile, Laurie Watson said.
“People used to ask, ‘Why do you pay him $15 an hour?’ This was in the ’80s, and she would say, ‘Because he works like a man,’” she said.
After work, he’d go bodyboarding then get on the bus for school.
Living in a remote part of Ocean View, he was called “reclusive” by some of his neighbors. People in the area knew little about him. Watson built his home out of dressed lava rock throughout a seven-year period while living on-site.
An autopsy was completed and was ruled inconclusive, pending the completion of the toxicology report, which could take weeks.
Email Graham Milldrum at gmilldrum@westhawaiitoday.com.
