COUPLE LIVED IN FEAR OF PAST COLQUITT FAMILY DRUG INFORMANTS

Moultrie - Jaime and Katerina Resendez lived in fear. They told
friends they were trying to escape something from their past.

A year ago, drug agents raided their trailer in Berrien County and
found 138 pounds of marijuana, authorities said. The couple
immediately cooperated with investigators, leading to the arrests of
several drug dealers in Texas, and reportedly to the drug's source in
Mexico.

Since then, the couple had tried to rebuild their lives. They started
settling down. After moving three times in the past year, they moved a
few months ago into a one-story brick home in Colquitt County, close
to Katerina's family. Both had jobs. The state had returned some of
the children who had been removed from their care after the bust. The
children were enrolled in school.

Lisa Gaines hired Katerina to work in her horse auction business and
rented the family a house. Katerina had confided her fears. Gaines
said Katerina had told her the drug arrest "was a blessing that it
happened. It was something to straighten her out, she said."

"We prayed together," Gaines said. Katerina, she added, was "living
for her kids."

But on Monday, trouble stormed back into their lives. The couple were
shot to death execution-style in their home. Also killed were the
couple's 3-year-old son, Juan Carlos; Katerina's mother, Betty Watts,
who lived nearby; and Liliana Aguilar, 30, who lived with the family.

No suspects have been identified in the killings, though police
believe there may be a connection to the couple's cooperation with
authorities in the drug case.

Colquitt County Sheriff Al Whittington, who is assisting in the murder
investigation led by the GBI, believes the killings were not the
result of a robbery gone haywire. He suspects the couple knew the
killers, even felt comfortable with them, and the slayings may trace
back to the couple's drug-dealing past.

The crime scene just doesn't add up to a robbery, Whittington said.
There was no forced entry. The crime took place in the middle of the
day, at a house with people inside. Even after the slayings, there was
still cash in the house, as well as electronics, he said.

Whittington believes the killers spent a considerable amount of time
in the home. The boy's father apparently had time to try to hide the
boy from the killers, authorities said. His body was found partially
concealed under a blanket in a bedroom, between a mattress and
headboard. The boy was shot in the head.

The killing of the child, in particular, seems to indicate the killers
knew the family, said Putnam County Sheriff Howard Sills, a longtime
investigator. He believes they were killing every possible witness.

Whittington suspects the house was ransacked in a search for drugs or
large amounts of cash.

Several family members have told authorities the couple had been
apprehensive but not in fear for their lives.

"They did feel something brewing," Whittington said.

The murder scene was discovered by four children coming home from
school, ages 12, 9, 7 and 5. Three of the children, who are
Katerina's, are now living with their grandfather, Jerry Watts, who
lost his wife, Betty, in the killings. The other child, a 12-year-old
nephew, was taken into care by state child welfare officials.

Katerina's three children have hardly talked of the killings, said
Mary Norman, Jerry Watts' sister. The family has tried to surround
them with loving adults and children who keep them playing.

"We're trying to keep things as normal as possible," Norman said, "to
keep them from being depressed."

Some family members question why authorities did not protect the
couple in exchange for the help they gave in the drug case.

"If I was trying to help, I would hope they'd give me some
protection," said Norman.

Berrien County Sheriff Jerry Brogdon, who arrested the couple and
helped in the larger drug-dealing investigation, said he protected the
couple as much as he could by not releasing their names after the drug
bust. Also, their court case had been put on hold following the
outcome of the broader investigation, he said.

Law enforcement officials say few informants receive much more
protection than that.

Coweta Judicial Circuit District Attorney Pete Skandalakis, who is
based in LaGrange, said state authorities can do little to protect
informants "other than keeping an eye on them and keep their names out
of the public. The truth is there are so many informants, it would be
impossible to protect them all."

Terry Norris, executive vice president of the Georgia Sheriffs'
Association, said the state has no formal system to protect informants.

For their own part, the couple were not necessarily living a secretive
life. They had moved back to Katerina's home area, only two counties
away from their original drug bust. In addition, they were known for
having neighborhood parties and frequent visitors. They had not
informed Brogdon of their latest move.

Mourners gathered Friday at Mount Zion Baptist Church to attend the
funeral for three of the victims --- Katerina, her son Juan Carlos,
and her mother, Betty. Jaime Resendez's body will be returned to
Mexico for burial.

Jerry Watts hopes to keep his grandchildren, Norman said. "They just
lost their brother and mommy and daddy and grandma," she said.