Beverley Watson made one of

her closest friends promise not to let her husband Jim get away with killing

her if she ever turned up missing, it was revealed in court last week.

Ellen Lord's testimony came

during a special pretrial hearing in Fulton County Superior Court last

week in the murder case against Jim Watson, who is charged with murdering

his wife. Jury selection in the trial began Monday.

"She said, 'Promise me

if this happens you'll never let him get away with it,'" Lord said.

Defense attorney Lee Sexton

pressed Lord whether she thought Beverley Watson was telling her the truth.

Lord replied, "Yes I do. ... Because I know her character."

Lord said she felt Jim Watson

was responsible for his wife's death, but if the evidence proves he's

not guilty "I'll be glad for him."

"All I really want is

justice for Beverley," Lord said. "She was my friend and I made

her a promise."

Mrs. Watson's remains were

found in a wooded area in Fulton County in 1999, more than two years after

she disappeared from her Fayette County home. Jim Watson told police his

wife walked away from their south Fayette County residence after an argument

between the couple.

Lord was the third of Beverley

Watson's close friends to testify that she warned them if she ever turned

up missing without the children to suspect that her husband would have

killed her.

Earlier in the week, two other

friends testified they were given similar warnings from Beverley Watson

before her disappearance. Each one claimed that Jim Watson told her that

he was friends with law enforcement and court officials and therefore

they would never believe her stories of abuse.

Beverley Watson's friends also

shared anecdotes she told them about her husband's threatening nature,

including:

Occasions where she would

wake up in the middle of the night to find her husband standing over her

with a gun pointed to her head.

How he allegedly chased her

through Fayetteville on several occasions after she fled their residence

in their car to avoid him after an argument. Once Jim Watson reportedly

struck her car with his truck to block her in and keep her from leaving.

An episode when Jim Watson's

gun supposedly discharged, causing a hole in the wall near where Beverley

Watson was standing. It was reported that he originally told her he was

cleaning his gun at the time, but later he supposedly joked about the

incident and used it to intimidate her.

An incident where Jim Watson

supposedly grabbed his wife by the neck and flipped her over, causing

her head to strike the floor. At the time, the couple was separated and

there was a restraining order banning Jim Watson from entering the couple's

home, witnesses said. The incident was reportedly witnessed by the couple's

young daughter, Ashley, who later testified that she didn't see such an

incident.

Beverley Watson's friends said

they never called police because they feared it cause her husband to hurt

her.

"I tried to tell her he

was all talk," said Christa Hinkle, one of Beverley Watson's childhood

friends. "I guess I was wrong."

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