Christopher Watts arrested again after fleeing Montreal halfway house

Christopher Watts will soon be out on statutory release, even though the parole board has raised concerns about his lack of remorse and risk to reoffend. CTV’s

The Ontario man responsible for the 2001 death of a 13-year-old girl at Puslinch Lake is back behind bars.

Christopher Watts, 66, was arrested in Hamilton on Tuesday night.

He was released from custody on May 28 and told to report to a halfway house in Montreal, where he reportedly checked in. On June 4, Watts disappeared and a Canada-wide warrant was issued for his arrest. He was described as a high-risk offender.

A vehicle registered to Watts was discovered at LaSalle Park in Burlington on June 9. He was arrested, later that same evening, in Hamilton by the Halton Regional Police Service.

Investigators are still trying to establish where Watts went, and what he did, in the five-day period after he left the halfway house. They released a photo of his Subaru Outback on Thursday, hoping the public can help fill in the timeline.

Anyone who saw or interacted with Watts between June 4 and June 9 is asked to call 905-825-4777 ext. 2316.

Assault at Puslinch Lake

Watts served a 12-year prison for the 2001 death of Amanda Raymond.

The 13-year-old died at a party at Watts’ home in Puslinch Lake. Court heard that he gave the teen Percocet, OxyContin, speed and ecstasy. When she fell into a drug-induced coma, Watts refused to call 911. Then, while she was unconscious, he undressed and sexually assaulted Raymond. Watts also wrote obscene words on her body and took photographs and video.

No one called for help until after Raymond stopped breathing.

Conviction and supervision order

Watts was convicted in 2003 of manslaughter, sexual assault and sexual interference.

He completed his sentence in 2015 and given a 10-year long-term supervision order (LTSO).

As CTV News previously reported, that LTSO was suspended nearly a dozen times. Some of the reasons given were Watts’ use of electronic devices and the internet, possession of inappropriate written material and photographs, having an undisclosed cell phone, having pictures of women and girls (some of whom were involved in his criminal history), not being transparent about where he went within the community, allegedly threatening a staff member, contacting someone from the 2003 no-contact list, going to places were children could be present, and inappropriate interactions with teenage girls or young women.

Most of the suspensions did not result in additional criminal charges and ended after 90 days.

One resulted in a subsentence of two years, two months and eight days.

Brief release in Kingston

In February 2022, Watts was moved from a medium security institution to a community correctional centre in Kingston.

Police issued a warning that he would be living in the area and could pose a risk, particularly to females under the age of 18.

Watts was only out in the community for a few weeks when, on March 8, his parole officer got the results from his electronic monitor. It had tracked Watts to 13 prohibited areas, including places where children would frequent.

A review found that Watts had repeatedly walked by a boys and girls club, and also an elementary school, around the time when students were heading home for the day.

When confronted, Watts told his parole officer he was headed elsewhere and agreed to take a different path in the future.

The next day he was tracked again to a location where he wasn’t supposed to be.

Watts was cautioned by the parole board, but no change was made to his release.

• FROM 2022: Amanda Raymond’s sister call Watts a ‘very dangerous man’

On March 17, Watts met a woman downtown without telling his parole officer. The two spent time together before the woman dropped Watts off at the community correctional centre. Police described the woman as “vulnerable” and said Watts gave her a fake name.

They also learned that Watts’s nephew had contacted the same woman in April. The parole board revoked his statutory release in June, noting that Watts has “continued your stalking and predatory behaviour even while incarcerated.”

The written decision said: “On this brief period of community release, you have done nothing to mitigate your risk assessments, to the contrary, you have demonstrated an elevation of risk.”

2023 incident

In 2023, Watts had a job where he worked alongside teenaged girls.

Not only did he not inform his parole officer, he also failed to mention his criminal history to his employer.

Move to Ottawa

Watts was given a statutory release in November 2025 after serving two-thirds of his sentence and went to a community-based residential facility in Ottawa where he had previously stayed.

During this time, Watts was forbidden from visiting Kitchener-Waterloo, Toronto or Kingston without written approval from his parole supervisor.

Order suspension and rearrest

In January 2025, a staff member at the facility where Watts was staying discovered a USB stick in his possession. It reportedly had two pictures of nude young women on it.

Watts’ release was suspended and he was rearrested. While he acknowledge the photos were prohibited, he also claimed they did not belong to him. No additional charges were laid.

The parole board said Watts emailed a female librarian in March who he believed was romantically interested in him. At that time, the board determined Watts’ level of accountability, motivation and potential reintegration was low.

Watts wanted to return to the community-based facility where he previously stayed, but they said they would not take him. He stayed in police custody until his release on May 28, on the condition that he stay at the halfway house in Montreal.