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Watson children speak out after appeal denied

By JOHN MUNFORD
jmunford@TheCitizenNews.com

Ashley and Todd Watson still strongly believe their father, Jim Watson, did not kill their mother Beverley, who disappeared in January 1997 and was found dead in a wooded area of south Fulton County in 1999.

At a press conference Tuesday night at the family’s east Fayette home, the brother and sister proclaimed their father’s innocence and expressed frustration that the court system took their father away from them.

Jim Watson, now serving a life sentence in the Reidsville state prison, was convicted in 2001 of murdering Beverley after a trial in Fulton County. An appeal of the conviction was rebuffed by the Georgia Supreme Court last month.

Jim Watson’s mother, Gail Watson, said Tuesday that the best avenue to prove her son’s innocence “is to find who really did it.”

“Then Jim would be totally exonerated for the whole thing,” Gail Watson said. “There’s someone out there somewhere who can give us every answer we know and they can do it in such detail that they are the ones who did it or he or she. There’s someone somewhere.”

Ashley Watson said she suspected her mother was killed either by a motorist as she walked along or by someone who lured her into their car.

Tuesday night’s press conference marked the first time that Todd Watson, now 14, has publicly addressed the matter. He was 6 years old when his mother disappeared; Jim Watson told police his wife walked out of the couple’s home at night following an argument between them while neither of the kids were home.

Todd Watson said Tuesday that he loves his mom very much and he misses her more and more as time goes by. He also firmly proclaimed his dad’s innocence in her death.

“If I thought that my dad had anything to do with her death or abused her in any way, we would not be here doing this interview,” Todd Watson said. “My dad did not abuse my mom. If he had, I would have known because I lived with them and saw it ... every day.”

Todd Watson also addressed the testimony in the case from several of Beverley Watson’s friends who testified she told them if she ever disappeared, it would be because her husband killed her. They also testified that she said her husband threatened to kill her and hide her body where no one would ever find it.

“I do not know if my mom lied to her friends or if her friends lied to the police, but someone did lie. I made a promise to my mom that I would not stop trying to help my dad overcome this injustice. I cannot have my mom back, but I will have my dad back home where he belongs.”

Ashley Watson said she did not believe her mother told several friends that if she ever disappeared, it was because her husband killed her.

“If I thought for one minute that my dad had murdered my mom, I would not be fighting to have my dad back home,” she said.

Ashley also said though her dad admitted to cheating on her mom, that doesn’t make him her killer.

“My dad loved my mom. She loved him. That is why my mom always accepted my dad back and why my dad always came back to my mom.”

Ashley Watson also challenged testimony by two of her mom’s friends who recalled seeing Jim Watson threaten Beverley with a gun in two separate incidents in 1988. Ashley said the incidents were fabricated and could not be verified by anyone else who was at the Watsons’ home at the time.

“How can something that allegedly happened nine years before my mom disappeared be evidence to indicate my dad murdered my mom?” Ashley Watson said.

Watson family members, assembled for the press conference, specifically rebuked the testimony of former neighbor Greg Bierbrodt, who had testified that he saw Jim Watson in the family’s driveway around 3:30 a.m. the night Beverley Watson disappeared. Bierbrodt said Jim Watson was carrying something underneath his arm after a motion light was activated, and Watson appeared startled to see someone drive by.

Ashley Watson said the outdoor lighting to the house hasn’t changed since her mom disappeared in 1997. She pointed out that the area where Bierbrodt said her dad was wis quite dark, even with the exterior light on, and it was almost impossible to identify anyone near the fence where Bierbrodt said he saw Jim Watson the night his wife disappeared.

Ashley Watson argued the Supreme Court shouldn’t have relied on Bierbrodt’s testimony, which was cited in its 26-page opinion published last month.

Ashley still lives in the family’s east Fayette home and runs her dad’s locksmith business while Todd lives with one of his aunts. The family maintains a website with information about the case at www.jimwatsonframed.com.

“I’m just trying to have as much of a normal life as I can,” Ashley said.