Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard Announces Recipients of 2003 "Voice for Victims" Awards

Atlanta Policeman Who Pulled Mother, Children from
Burning Wreck Among Recipients

Atlanta—Fulton County District Attorney Paul L. Howard Jr. (Atlanta Judicial Circuit) announces that Atlanta Police Investigator Warren Pickard, Ms. Debbie White, Ms. Krista Hinkle, Ms. Donna Nowell, Ms. Ellen Lord, Reverend Edwin Mack, and Ms. Angela Beasley will be the recipients of this year's "A Voice for Victims" Awards given by this Office in recognition of outstanding service to victims of crime in Fulton County. The sixth-annual awards ceremony will be held on 17 April in the Fulton County Government Center Atrium (141 Pryor Street, SW) at 3:00 pm. The Honorable Bensonetta Tipton Lane, Fulton County Superior Court judge, will be the keynote speaker at the event.

"This recognition for Investigator Pickard and our other honorees is an attempt to express our deep appreciation for the invaluable service they've provided, each in his or her own way, to crime victims in our community," says Mr. Howard. "The 'Voice for Victims' Award seeks to remember not only victims of crime but also those good citizens who come forward to help."

Atlanta Police Investigator Warren Pickard
On March 7, 2002, Investigator Warren Pickard of the Atlanta Police Department Criminal Investigations Division's Fugitive Unit was in the area of Metropolitan Avenue and Interstate 85 and witnessed a violent collision of two vehicles. Flames began to rise from one of the vehicles, which had lost power to the electronic door locks and windows-trapping a mother and her two small children inside. Investigator Pickard was faced with a grave decision on how to rescue the terrified occupants. He elected to use his service weapon to break the rear window of the vehicle. He carefully placed the muzzle of the weapon against the window and in the direction of the floorboard, checking repeatedly to ensure the safety of the occupants. He fired his weapon, shattering the window and gaining entry to the vehicle. Along with several citizens, Investigator Pickard was able to free Angela Trochelmann and her two children from the burning wreck.

"The Best Friends a Girl Could Ever Have":
When wife and mother Beverly Watson went missing on a bitterly cold night in 1997, her husband Jim claimed she had walked out on him and never returned. Two years later, her skeletal remains were found in a wooded area of Fulton County. Her husband again denied any knowledge of what happened to her. Beverly's four best friends didn't buy it. Debbie White, Krista Hinkle, and Donna Nowell-all friends of Beverly's since childhood-and Ellen Lord, a co-worker who had become a close friend and confidant to her, suspected foul play from the start. But with almost no physical evidence to go on and years having passed, authorities were faced with an immense challenge in bringing Beverly's killer to justice. If not for the dogged determination of these four women, who refused to let Beverly's death go unavenged, Jim Watson might well be a free man today. But, with their help, Jim Watson was convicted of his wife's murder and sentenced to life in prison last year.

"Big Mama's House": A Safe Haven for At-Risk Youth
The need for alternative approaches to dealing with juvenile offenders has become increasingly apparent across the nation in recent years but remains a troubling problem. In Fulton County, an innovative approach known as "the Big Mama's House" project is under development to provide an alternative for young men currently in the juvenile justice system. The "Big Mama's House" program works as a rehabilitative tool-rather than as a strictly punitive one-by placing children in a positive environment with a host family instead of in jail or some other detention facility. Fulton County has been fortunate to have Reverend Edwin Mack, pastor of Macon's Unionville Baptist Church, and Angela Beasley of the Fulton County Department of Health & Wellness, assisting the District Attorney's Office in the planning and implementation of this program as well as the identification of host families committed to participating in "Big Mama's House" upon its completion.

CONTACT: Erik Friedly, 404-224-0560 (office); 404-533-1381 (pager)