Friday, January 1, 1999 |
A candlelight vigil last Sunday night, marking the second anniversary of the disappearance of Fayette resident Beverly Watson, ended on an ugly note, according to Fayette County Sheriff's Department reports. Officers reported observing the marchers, who had gone from the old Fayette County Courthouse into Huntington Creek South subdivision, leave their lighted candles in the driveway of Jim Watson, the missing woman's husband. When the marchers left, reports show, Jim Watson and a relative came out and stepped on the candles, extinguishing the flames. At that point, some people in the crowd who saw the action shouted "murderer" and "coward" at Jim Watson, according to sheriff's department sources. Members of the missing woman's family have asked that the Georgia Bureau of Investigation take over the case, but Fayette County Sheriff Randall Johnson has said that the GBI has assisted the investigation since the disappearance. Jim Watson has not been named a suspect. There are civil lawsuits pending from both Watson and the sheriff's department about aspects of the investigation.
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