Friday, January 18, 2002
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Friday, January 18, 2002 |
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Though husband arrested, prosecutors still don't know how Beverley Watson died By JOHN
MUNFORD
The results of new tests gave Fulton County prosecutors the momentum to present a grand jury with evidence Tuesday that Jim Watson killed his wife, Beverley, according to officials. But the indictment handed down by the grand jury also indicated what investigators still don't know how Beverley Watson died. According to the indictment, Jim Watson is accused of murdering his wife "by a method which is unknown to the grand jury at this time." Watson's attorney, Lee Sexton, said a medical examiner told him there was no way to tell whether Beverley Watson died of foul play or natural causes. Sexton also contested whether there was any "new" evidence. Sexton has also approached Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard to negotiate a bond for Watson so he may be released from custody until the case is resolved. The case is in Fulton County's jurisdiction because Beverley Watson's remains were discovered in a wooded area in rural south Fulton County near Fairburn in early 1999, over two years after her disappearance. The remains were tested at the Fulton County Medical Examiner's Office, but after the tests they were released to Jim Watson because no hold had been placed on the "evidence." Watson had his wife's remains cremated before authorities found out about the glitch in the investigation. The nature of the tests and their results was not released by the Fulton County District Attorney's Office. But a spokesman confirmed that the case was bolstered recently by the test results. "I know going forward was the result of new evidence from additional tests that have been done," said spokesman Erik Friedly. "There has been a lot of work on this case in the last several months which allowed us to go forward. We definitely have more now than in the past." Sexton claimed there was no new evidence and that the material presented to the grand jury was "rehashed evidence." Watson maintains his innocence in the case, Sexton said. Watson originally told police his wife left the house Jan. 18, 1997 after they argued over their impending separation. Watson's case has been assigned to Fulton County Superior Court Judge T. Jackson Bedford, Friedly said. If there is any new evidence in the case, it will be shared with Sexton when the district attorney's office files its discovery once Watson is arraigned. The couple's son and daughter, who have been living with Jim Watson, have stayed with his relatives since his arrest, Sexton confirmed. Watson, a former part-time narcotics officer for the Riverdale Police Department, was arrested by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation's metro fugitive squad, which had staked out the house Tuesday awaiting word on the grand jury decision. Sexton complained that detectives tried to question Watson although they already knew he was represented by an attorney.
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