Friday, May 31, 2002
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Friday, May 31, 2002 |
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Watson Trial Begins By JOHN
MUNFORD
Before she died Beverley Watson reportedly once told a close friend that if she ever disappeared without her children it was because her husband would have killed her, it was revealed in court Thursday morning. The husband, Jim Watson, is charged with murdering his wife who he claimed disappeared from their Fayette County home after an argument in January 1997. The trial is slated to begin Monday in Fulton County because Beverley Watson's remains were found in a rural area near Fairburn in the Summer of 1999. The allegations of Beverley Watson's friend and coworker, Ellen Lord, were at the heart of the first clash between prosecutors and defense attorneys during pretrial motions in court Thursday morning. Defense attorneys argued that because Lord had been interviewed by detectives while hypnotized, any of her testimony must be limited to her statements that were taken before she was hypnotized. Former Fayette County sheriff's department Det. Sgt. Sam White testified that Lord was hypnotized in an effort to draw out any detailed information Beverley Watson may have told Lord about a location where her husband may have disposed of her remains. White said the effort yielded no new information. The hypnotic interview session occurred in the fall of 1997 several months after Beverley Watson's disappearance. At the time, detectives were running out of places to search for Mrs. Watson, White said. Complicating matters is that the tape of the hypnotic interview has turned up missing from the Fayette County sheriff department. Detective White, who is now a special agent with the U.S. Secret Service, said he turned that tape over to another detective at the sheriff's department. It was also revealed in court that Lord told police that Beverley Watson told her that Jim Watson said he knew how to hide her body without it ever being found because of his law enforcement background. Watson once worked part time with the Riverdale police department as a narcotics officer. He has also worked for the Manchester police department More evidentiary hearings were scheduled Thursday afternoon after the Citizen's press time. The Citizen will periodically update its web site with new information as it becomes available.
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