Former Jamestown police officer ruled out as person of interest in Yolanda Bindics cold case

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — A former Jamestown police officer has been ruled out as a person of interest in the 20-year-old cold case involving the murder of Yolanda Bindics, the Chautauqua County Sheriff's Office said Wednesday.

Bindics, then 25 years old, was reported missing to the Jamestown Police Department after she did not return home following her shift at the Family Dollar on Fluvanna Avenue in Jamestown on Aug. 10, 2004.

Bindics' remains were found over two years later on Sept. 10, 2006 in the Boutwell Hill State Forest in the Town of Charlotte. Her death was determined to be a homicide.

The former Jamestown officer, Michael Watson, was identified as a person of interest in the case in 2004.

This is the first significant development in the case since 2022, when Clarence Carte, the father of Bindics' youngest child, was named an official person of interest due to information they received from the public. He was seen leaving a Kwik Fill gas station across the street from the Family Dollar around the same time Bindics went missing. Wednesday's announcement regarding Watson leaves Carte as the lone person of interest in the case.

"I didn't know him, I didn't know of him until after she went missing," Bindics' sister Anne Chmielewski said Wednesday. "I've learned a lot about him over the years, I know he's not a very nice person. I don't know if he's changed now."

Police also released two new photos Wednesday that have never been released. One of them is allegedly a photo of Carte outside of the Kwik Fill seemingly looking at the Family Dollar, and a second photo is allegedly of Carte's vehicle heading towards the exit on Fluvanna.

Bindics' family believes that the case is close to being solved.

"We're constantly fighting for justice for Yolanda," Chmielewski said. "We're confident that we are so close to having this solved."

Anyone with information is asked to call a confidential tip call line at (716) 703-5955.