Competency hearing begins Friday in double murder

Beginning Friday morning, defense attorneys for Quentin Watson will try to convince 22^nd Judicial District Judge William Knight that he is not competent to stand trial.

Quentin Watson

Watson, 29, faces the death penalty in the double murder of Anita Smith, 46, and her nephew, William Lewis, 32, in Smith’s East Acres Subdivision in Franklinton. Family members discovered their bodies on Feb. 6, 2008.

It will be up to Judge Knight to sort through the presentations of both defense and prosecution and decide if Watson, who initially admitted guilt when arrested in August 2009, can aid in his own defense.

If ruled competent, jury selection in the trial can get under way as quickly as Judge Knight decides.

Anita Smith

Watson pled “not guilty” during his arraignment and continued to profess his innocence during a jailhouse interview with the Bogalusa newspaper.

In the newspaper interview, Watson even claims to have talked with the person he believes to be the real killer and said his confession to police was out of fear for the safety for his family and himself.

Watson said he received a call on his cell phone the day the bodies were discovered and was told that if he said anything, he “would be next.”

Law enforcement discounted Watson’s claims and said he was looking for a way out. They also said the person Watson was referring to was never a suspect and that Watson’s claims are not supported by the evidence collected — which includes his DNA.

It was a contact DNA sample taken from the crime scene that resulted in Watson’s arrest. Watson was arrested for prescription fraud in November 2008 and had his DNA collected by Pardons and Paroles in March 2009.

A backlog delayed the entry of Watson’s DNA into the state system until July 2009 but when it was finally entered, investigators got a hit.

Police began tracking Watson’s movements before bringing him in for questioning when, Franklinton Police Chief Donald Folse said, “he took full responsibility” for the killings.

Competency hearing will start action in Quentin Watson's double murder trial on Friday

The double murder trial of 29-year-old Quentin Watson of Franklinton will get under way on Monday, Aug. 1 in the 22^nd District Courtroom of Judge William Knight instead of Friday as previously reported.

Quentin Watson

Watson is charged with the shooting deaths of Anita Smith, 46, and her nephew, William Lewis, 32, in Smith’s East Acres Subdivision. Their bodies were discovered on Feb. 6, 2008

On Friday, the court will hold a competency hearing for Watson, who first accepted responsibility for the killings when he was arrested in August 2009, then pled “not guilty” during his arraignment and continued to profess his innocence during a jailhouse interview with the Bogalusa newspaper.

Anita Smith

If Watson is deemed competent to stand trial — meaning he understands the charges against him and can aid in his defense — the trial will get under way on August 1.

It was in that interview that Watson even claimed to have talked with the person he believes to be the real killer and said his confession to police was out of fear for the safety for his family and himself.

Watson said he received a call on his cell phone the day the bodies were discovered and was told that if he said anything, he “would be next.”

Law enforcement discounted Watson’s claims and said he was looking for a way out. They also said the person Watson was referring to was never a suspect in the case and that Watson’s claims are not supported by the evidence collected — which includes his DNA.

Getting to this point was not easy, as law enforcement officers spent 18 months following every lead, then going back and following up again. Despite evidence found at the scene, the pieces of the puzzle never quite seemed to fit together.

But that began to change when Watson was arrested for prescription fraud in November 2008. It what Watson described as the first time he ever got in trouble, he says he bought a forged prescription for Lortab from a former nurse and tried to get it filled in Bogalusa.

It was that arrest, and subsequent collection of his DNA by Pardons and Paroles in March 2009, that led to Watson’s arrest.

A backlog delayed the entry of Watson’s DNA into the state system until July 2009 but it was at that point that investigators got a hit with evidence they had collected at the crime scene.

Police began tracking Watson’s movements before bringing him in for questioning when, Franklinton Police Chief Donald Folse said, “he took full responsibility” for the killings.

Anita Smith, William Lewis murder trial to begin July 29 before Judge William 'Rusty' Knight

By the time Judge William “Rusty” Knight brings down his gavel for the first time, it will be within one week of having been three-and-one-half years since the bodies of Anita Smith and her nephew, William Lewis, were found in her Franklinton home.

Anita Smith

Now, Lady Justice has her turn, as the trial of 29-year-old Quentin Watson, charged with two counts of first-degree murder, is scheduled to get under way Friday (July 29)  in the courthouse at Franklinton.

Smith admitted his guilt to officers during the investigation, but officially plead "not guilty."                      He told the Bogalusa newspaper he knew the identity of the real killer, but that he never came forward because he feared for his life and the lives of his family.

Quentin Watson

Smith, 46, and her nephew Lewis, 32, were discovered shot to death at Smith’s home in East Acres Subdivision.

For 18 months, law enforcement officials followed every lead that came their way, but never could seem to gain traction in the case as, from the beginning, clues were minimal.

As detectives looked for the lead that would be the key to unlocking the case, the constant question in the community was, “Who could do this?” and “Who would kill Anita?”

Smith, well-known in the area as a gospel music singer, was a former advertising representative, working at newspapers in Bogalusa, Slidell and Covington along the way. To say she was well-liked would have been an understatement.

Her nephew had come from the Jackson, Miss. area to live with her and regain footing in his life after what had been described as a series of setbacks.

No one could understand why anyone would take their lives.

The break police needed came when Pardons and Parole collected Watson’s DNA in March 2009 following his conviction in November 2008 for prescription fraud. Watson would later say that had been the only time he was in trouble with the law prior to his arrest for murder.

That data was not input into the state system until July but, after it was processed, was discovered to be a match for what officials described as “contact DNA” found at the scene.

It was, it turned out, that key investigators had been seeking.

Police began tracking Watson’s movements before bringing him in for questioning when, Franklinton Police Chief Donald Folse said, “he took full responsibility” for the killings. down.