Arrest warrants have been obtained by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation for Curtis Ray Watson, who escaped from a West Tennessee prison on Wednesday and killed a prison administrator.

The TBI said Watson will be charged with first-degree murder, especially aggravated burglary and aggravated sexual battery in connection with the death of Debra Johnson.

Johnson is a Correctional Administrator for the Tennessee Department of Correction and lived at a state-owned house near the West Tennessee State Penitentiary, where Watson was being held.

The TBI issued a Blue Alert for Watson after he was discovered missing during a head count at the prison after Johnson was discovered dead around 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday.

Little details on how Watson was able to escape has been released.

Multiple state and federal agencies have offered money for a reward for the arrest of Watson. The reward has now reached $52,500.

Watson has also been added to the TBI’s Most Wanted list.

Watson was a minimum custody offender assigned to a job of farm laborer at the prison. He was serving a 15-year sentence on an especially aggravated kidnapping conviction in Henry County in 2013. His sentence was due to expire in 2025. He had previously been convicted of aggravated child abuse out of Carroll County. That sentence expired in 2011.

Watson stands 5’11”, weighs 140 pounds with brown eyes and a long grey beard. He has a variety of tattoos across his body. He is considered dangerous.