Friday, October 15, 1999 |
The widowed husband of Beverley Watson was hit Friday with a wrongful death suit filed by her family in Fayette County Superior Court. Beverley Watson was last seen alive on Jan. 17, 1997. A portion of her remains were found by a surveyor earlier this year. The Fulton County Police Department has investigated the case, which is now in the hands of that county's district attorney, whose office is still reviewing it, a spokesman said Wednesday. Beverley Watson's remains were returned to her husband this summer, and he had her cremated. The Fulton County District Attorney has not charged anyone with a crime in connection with her death. Fayette County law enforcement authorities are not involved in the case, and Jim Watson has never been named as a suspect. Fred Callaway, Beverley's father, along with her three siblings and on behalf of her two children, charged that Jim Watson caused his wife's wrongful death and then lied repeatedly to cover it up, according to court records. After the suit was filed, Judge Paschal English issued an order prohibiting Jim Watson from divesting any of their marital assets, including the contents of their home and a business they jointly owned. The suit alleges that there were numerous incidents of physical and mental abuse inflicted upon Beverley Watson by her husband during their marriage, and that Jim Watson was involved in “incidents of infidelity.” According to the suit, Jim Watson was “extremely possessive” and “demonstrated extreme and unreasonable jealousy” toward his wife, who had filed for divorce and sought court protection against him before her disappearance because she feared for her safety. On the night she was last seen, a Friday, Beverley Watson allegedly left her home in Fayetteville and went to the home of a friend, Debbie White, according to the suit. She then went back home and got into an argument with her husband. White and numerous family members tried to reach her by telephone throughout the weekend, the suit alleges, but Jim Watson lied about her whereabouts, saying one time that she was asleep in the house. When White called back Monday, Jan. 20, she told Jim Watson that she was going to the police. Later that day he went to the Fayette County Sheriff's Department and reported his wife missing, according to the suit. Beverley Watson's family charges that Jim Watson called her employer, WhiteWater Country Club, the morning of Jan. 20 to say that she was out of town for a few days, although her car and many personal items such as her purse were still at her home. Jim Watson also claimed that his wife left the house the night of Jan. 17 and never came back, although he claimed she was home sleeping when her family and friends called over the weekend, the suit alleges. The family is asking for more than $1 million in damages based on the value of Beverley Watson's remaining years with her children as well as pain and suffering. Jim Watson has caused her “excruciating pain, terror and emotional horror” through his actions, the suit charges.
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