Brian Scott Watkins, 22, of Provo, died Sunday, September 2, 1990 at St. Vincent Hospital in New York City, New York.

He was born May 15, 1968 in Provo, Utah, a son of Sherwin James and Karen Cox Watkins.

He graduated from Provo High School.

He played tennis in high school and received a tennis scholarship to Idaho State University in Pocatello, Idaho.

He attended there for three years and majored in Political Science and was accepted on an internship in Washington, D.C. with Idaho's Senator Symns to further his career.

He was employed as a Seminar Director for American Business Seminars of Provo, Utah.

He was an Elder in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and lived in the Provo North Fourth Ward.

Survivors include his parents, one brother and sister, Todd James Watkins, Emily Watkins, all of Provo; his grandparents, Heber W. and Leota Beardall Cox, Springville; and Carl A. Watkins, Sr., Provo.

He was preceded in death by his grandmother, Elma Mae James Watkins.

Funeral services will be held Saturday, September 8, 1990 at 11 a.m. in the Provo North Fourth Ward LDS Chapel, 1260 West 1150 North.

Friends may call Friday from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Sundberg-Olpin Mortuary, 495 South State, Orem, and Saturday from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. prior to the services at the ward chapel.

Burial will be in the Provo City Cemetery.

Published in the Deseret News on September 8, 1990


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Deadly Mugging Taints The City

By REED ALBERGOTTI AND DAVID OATS

The stabbing murder of Brian Watkins, a 22-year-old visiting New York to watch the U.S. Open in 1990, reinforced the nation's worst images of New York City and its violent streets and subways.

Watkins was on his way to the Tavern on the Green with his parents and brother when they were mugged at the 53rd St. and 7th Avenue station, as they attempted to transfer to the D Train.

Eight men from different neighborhoods in Queens carried out the mugging, something they did routinely to finance their dance club outings.

While some of the men stood guard and watched for cops at the top of the staircase, one of the men slashed open the pocket of Brian's father, Sherwin and stole his credit cards and $200 in cash. After Karen, Brian's mother, was attacked and thrown onto the subway tracks, Brian, and his brother Todd, 26, jumped in to protect her.

That's when Brian was stabbed in the chest with a butterfly knife. He valiantly pursued the attackers, but lost wind and collapsed on the subway platform stairs, where he died.

The attacks slowed tourism to New York as national audiences heard accounts of the brutal attack. Watkins was the 18th New York subway murder victim in 1990, but his murder was the first much of the country heard of the city's subway ills.

The group of boys who robbed belonged to a gang called FTS. Seven of the attackers were convicted of the crime and got 25 years to life. They won't be eligible for parole until 2016.

The Watkins family agreed to accept a $300,000 settlement in its $100 million wrongful death suit, and Sherwin Watkins was quoted in the New York Times as saying he would one day visit the city again.