FRANKLINTON — Double murder suspect Quentin Watson said he did not kill Anita Smith and her 32-year-old nephew in one of the most shocking crimes to occur in the Fair City in recent memory. However, police say they did arrest the right man for the 2008 killings and have the evidence to prove it.

Watson, who has been in the Washington Parish Jail since his arrest in August, agreed to a one-hour interview with The Daily News last Thursday. He was charged on two counts of first-degree murder after confessing to police that he pulled the trigger.

But that confession was given only because he was afraid for his life and others, said Watson, a charismatic Franklinton resident known for being friendly and polite.

Quentin Watson, pictured at the Washington Parish Jail last week, said he did not kill Anita Smith and William Lewis. Advertisement

“I was scared for my family,” said Watson, a 27-year-old former truck driver and father of two.

On the day the double murder was discovered — Feb. 6, 2008 — Watson said he received a phone call from the person he believes to be truly responsible for killing Smith and William Lewis.

“He called me on my cell phone,” said Watson, and the caller said: “If you say anything, you’re next.”

Watson said he did go to Smith’s house the night before the murders, but he was not there when the crime happened. He said he delivered a package to Smith and Lewis, and stayed for about an hour, socializing and playing solitaire on the computer.

Watson said he didn’t know the murders had taken place until he saw it on the news.

Police said on Friday that Watson is grasping at straws and his story is not supported by evidence in the case.

“Based on forensic evidence, it would be physically impossible for his story to take place,” said Franklinton Police Lt. Justin Brown, one of the lead detectives in the case. “He was there right after the murders happened.”

Watson said he was a friend of the family, and often visited Smith’s house on 14th Avenue, where the crime took place. He said his DNA was at the scene because he would go there often, and he had no reason to kill Smith or Lewis.

“I don’t have the guts to kill somebody,” Watson said. “They were like family to me.”

Smith’s daughters, Wendy Rawls and Nikki Hughes, said they knew Watson from high school and later worked with him, but he was not a frequent visitor to Smith’s household. He was more of an “associate,” and did come to Smith’s house once or twice in the year before the murders, they said.

Still, even they were surprised when police arrested Watson for the crime.

“We were totally shocked,” said Hughes.

Regardless of Watson’s version of events, the daughters said they feel Watson is responsible in some way — especially if he knew something during the 18 months that police were investigating the unsolved crime.

And while details remain fuzzy of exactly why the murders took place, any excuse for the killings is inexcusable, the family members said.

“It’s never going to be a good enough reason,” the daughters said.

The person Watson said is responsible for the killings was never a suspect in the case and there is no evidence linking him to the crime, according to police.

Watson said the person repeatedly threatened him during the months after the killings, causing Watson to be so scared that he went ahead and took the blame for the murders.

“I just said OK — I did it,” Watson said, adding he played along with what police were telling him during the confession. “I actually fed off their story.”

Watson also told The Daily News about the prescription drug conviction that later led to his arrest in the double murder case.

In November 2008, Watson said he purchased a forged prescription for the painkiller Lortab from a former nurse and tried to have the prescription filled in Bogalusa.

“I tried it and got in trouble,” said Watson, a 2001 Franklinton High graduate who played for the school band and football team. “That was the first time that I had ever got in trouble.”

After he was convicted for prescription drug fraud, Watson’s DNA was put into a criminal tracking system, and eventually matched to DNA collected at murder scene.

Since his arrest in August, Watson said he is no longer addicted to painkillers, and is now able to think straight.

“I’m not giving up my life for something I didn’t do,” he said.