Local & State Headlines

GBI still probing man's death

J.D. Sumner

LEARY — GBI agents believe that someone knows how Peter Watson met his end.

The 28-year-old Newton man was found lying dead in an irrigation ditch on the Magnolia Plantation near Highway 62 just outside Leary five years ago Thursday, Special Agent Fred Wimberly said.

While agents wouldn’t divulge details of how Watson died — their case is still labeled as a death investigation, not a murder — they did say they believe someone has information about the case.

“Someone, anyone, with information, even if it’s something they think is just a tiny detail, needs to come forward and help us close this case,” Wimberly said.

Watson was reported missing nine days before his body was discovered.

According to published reports, police discovered Watson’s vehicle about 20 miles from where his body was eventually discovered, with the doors open and the keys in the ignition.

Then Newton Police Chief Ken Corn, who was assisting in the investigation, told an Albany Herald reporter that Watson likely hadn’t walked the 20 miles, but wouldn’t divulge details about the investigation, only that Watson likely had been dead several days before his body was discovered.

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