Jim Watson

twice pulled guns on his wife Beverley at a New Year's Eve party in the

late 1980s and once pulled her out of her mother's house by her neck according

to witnesses testifying in his murder trial which began last week.

Thursday afternoon,

Donna Spainhour testified she stumbled upon Jim and Beverley in the garage

during a party at the Watson's south Fayette home. Jim had one hand around

Beverley's neck and the other propping up a handgun pointed at her head.

Jim later withdrew the gun and went into the house, Spainhour said.

Previously

in the trial, Debbie White testified that at that same party Jim pointed

a shotgun at Beverley's head after the couple had an argument. White said

Watson pointed the shotgun and said, "Will you talk to me now?"

before lowering the weapon and walking out of the bedroom where Beverley

and Debbie White were talking.

Through Thursday,

Spainhour and White were the only two witnesses testifying that they saw

Watson intimidate his wife with a weapon.

other witnesses, defense attorney Lee Sexton pointed out that it was not

unusual for a police officer to own firearms. Sexton also asked Spainhour

and White why they never called police.

"I was

asked not to," Spainhour said, though it was unclear who asked her

not to call authorities to report the alleged incident.

White had previously

testified that the decision whether or not to call authorities was Beverley's.

Some witnesses have testified that Beverley told them of a threat from

Jim that if she ever called police on him, they wouldn't believe her since

he was a police officer.

But Beverley

Watson did once call police to report that her husband was threatening

her, in August 1994, according to testimony in the trial. Capt. Bryan

Woodie of the Fayette County Sheriff's Department said Thursday afternoon

that 911 records indicate that Dep. Steve Borders was dispatched to the

couple's home to investigate the complaint. Jim Watson was not arrested

that evening.

According to

the 911 report of the incident, Beverley "made reference to her husband

being in the house," Woodie said. The report also indicates the reporting

officer found no gun at the residence, Woodie confirmed.

Other witnesses

have said at the time of the incident Jim Watson was under a restraining

order to be away from Beverley that was granted by a judge after she filed

for divorce from him.

Beverley later

dropped the divorce complaint after the couple reconciled later in the

year, several witnesses have testified.

In another

incident, Jim Watson is said to have pulled his wife out of her mother's

house while grabbing her by the throat.

Cecile Winton,

75, said she witnessed the incident from her kitchen window. Winton testified

that she saw Jim Watson pull his wife onto the carport of Alyce Callaway's

Riverdale home.

Winton said

that Jim Watson had both his hands around his wife's throat when she witnessed

the incident.

"They

wrestled around a little bit...," Winton told the jury.

Defense Attorney

Lee Sexton questioned whether Winton, who is 75, actually saw Jim Watson

during that incident. He asked her if she might instead have seen one

of Beverley's brothers, Drew, choking her and not Jim Watson.

"He (Jim

Watson) doesn't favor Andy," Winton said, testifying that she used

to know Drew by the name Andy when he was growing up.

"I've

knew [sic] Andy since he was a child, and he doesn't favor Jim.

"I seen

[sic] him pull her out of the kitchen..." Winton said. "And

I seen him try to strangle her."

Defense attorney

Lee Sexton said that his client plans to take the stand to defend himself

of the murder charge and answer various allegations when the defense gets

underway sometime next week

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