Wednesday, May 29, 2002
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Wednesday, May 29, 2002 |
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Watson murder trial starts next week By JOHN MUNFORD
Over five years ago, James Lamar Watson Jr. reported his wife missing, telling police she walked away from their home following a late-night argument between the couple. His story will be tested in court next week as Fulton County prosecutors try the Fayetteville man for Beverley Watson's murder. The case is in Fulton County's jurisdiction because her remains were found in a wooded area north of the Fayette County line almost three years ago. Beverley Watson's disappearance was originally investigated by the Fayette County Sheriff's Department, and several detectives and officers are on the state's witness list to testify during the trial, which is scheduled to last no more than two weeks. Watson was indicted for his wife's murder in January by a Fulton County grand jury. After his subsequent arrest, prosecutors attributed the indictment to the results of new test results from evidence. Jury selection for the trial is slated to begin Monday. Watson is represented by Lee Sexton and Ricky Morris Jr., both of Jonesboro. Although prosecutors were able to secure the indictment, it is clear they are unsure exactly how Beverley Watson died. According to the indictment, her death occurred "by a method which is unknown to the grand jury at this time." Watson's attorney has said a medical examiner told him there was no way to tell whether Beverley Watson died of foul play or natural causes. Before Beverley Watson's death, she at one time filed for divorce though the couple later reconciled. Watson remains free on $100,000 bond, though he is under strict orders from Superior Court Judge T. Jackson Bedford Jr. not to have any contact with potential witnesses in the case after prosecutors complained that he had been attempting to intimidate witnesses. Watson, a former part-time narcotics officer for the Riverdale Police Department, was also ordered to surrender any firearms in his possession and adhere to a strict curfew as part of his bond conditions set by Judge Bedford. The case took a number of twists and turns before Watson's arrest in January. In July 1999, he took custody of his wife's remains and had them cremated before they could be preserved as evidence. The Fulton County Medical Examiner's Office, which examined the remains, eventually concluded that the cause of her death was undetermined. The case has also resulted in several federal lawsuits, as Jim Watson sued the Sheriff's Department over a traffic stop months after his wife's disappearance that was ordered by Maj. Bruce Jordan, the department's lead investigator. Jordan countersued for slander, but both suits were dismissed by a federal judge. The traffic stop was for having illegally tinted windows, and deputies discovered a gun in the vehicle that was later returned to Jim Watson. The department was also sued in another case relating to the traffic stop as a former lieutenant at the Sheriff's Department claimed he was wrongfully fired for speaking to Watson's attorney about the traffic stop after department officials told him not to. Watson was first publicly identified as the prime suspect in a hearing on that case in May of 2000 by Jordan and several other deputies. After learning Mrs. Watson's remains were found, a local attorney turned over documents to authorities that she had given him in case she were ever found dead. The attorney, Jim Bischoff, represented Mrs. Watson in a divorce proceeding she brought several years prior to her disappearance that was never consummated. Mrs. Watson's father, Fred Callaway, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Jim Watson, which was ultimately settled in August 2000. Callaway lodged the suit on behalf of the Watsons' two children, but the details of the settlement were not released.
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