Two men are behind bars for killing a man who became famous for being unfaithful on the day of his wedding, and the victim’s fiancée is speaking out about what led to the deadly encounter.
The victim of the March 19 shooting, Philip Panzica, garnered nationwide attention after being caught having sex with a woman that was not his fiancée on the High Roller Ferris wheel in Las Vegas this past February, the same day he was supposed to get married. According to the NY Daily News, the shooter, 28-year-old Bryan Watts, says he told police, “I shot him. I didn’t have anything to hide.” He allegedly confessed that he shot Panzica out of self-defense.
Watts said he was in a car with his brother, Aaron Jones, along with Panzica and his ex-fiancee, Mistie Bozant. He said he had met the couple two weeks prior and wanted to hang out with them. He said the group had just picked up Bozant from her job at the Vivid strip club in Houston, Texas at around 5 a.m. when the fatal altercation occurred. In a jailhouse interview, Watts told the news station WHOU that he “began to feel like we were in danger. Philip was reaching for something.”
Reportedly, Watts thought the couple wanted to steal his money. He had $700 in cash on him. But Watts’ story doesn’t match up with police reports and Bozant’s account of what happened. According to Bozant, Watts and his brother were robbing her and Panzica, and they were attempting to hijack the vehicle. She also said the couple had a check for $4000 that they received from an interview with “Inside Edition” and had been bragging about the money.
Police say Watts told the couple, “You need to come clean,” and then shot Panzica multiple times with a handgun.
“Philip didn’t even have time to talk, the guy just shot him like five times in the head,” Bozant recalled. “I was like, ‘Baby, stay with me.’ I could still see his heart beating, but his eyes were just glassy.”
Panzica’s body was dumped on the side of the road, and Watts and Jones took off in Bozant’s car. The brothers were arrested and are now being charged with capital murder. Watts has apologized to Panzica’s family, saying, “I’m deeply sorry for the loss. They are in my prayers.”
Bozant said she had eventually forgiven her fiancé for cheating on her on the Ferris wheel.
