Ashley Smith News
Hero Stops Atlanta Courthouse Killer's Spree
· Hostage Gave Meth to Atlanta Fugitive. Ashley Smith, the woman who says she persuaded suspected courthouse gunman Brian Nichols to release her by talking about her faith, discloses in a new book that she gave him methamphetamine during the hostage ordeal. In her book, "Unlikely Angel," released Tuesday, Smith says Nichols had her bound on her bed with masking tape and an extension cord. He asked for marijuana, but she did not have any, and she dug into her illegal stash of crystal meth instead. 
· Two indicted in slaying of hostage hero's husband. A grand jury indicted two men Wednesday in the 2001 stabbing death of Daniel McFarland Smith, husband of the woman hailed as a hero for turning in a man accused of killing a judge and three other people in Atlanta. Columbia County Police Maj. Rick Whitaker said Cory Blaine Coggins, 22, of Grovetown, Georgia, and Barry Keith Tabor Jr., believed to be in his 20s, of Augusta, Georgia, were each charged with murder. Smith was killed August 18, 2001, after he and his wife, Ashley, went to an apartment complex in Martinez, Georgia, to confront some acquaintances. He was stabbed in the parking lot, and Ashley Smith said her husband died in her arms.
· Runaway Bride, Hero Hostage to 'Tell-All.' One woman broke the law. The other helped catch a suspected killer. Both are selling their stories and could make millions in the process. Representatives of Ashley Smith - whose 911 call led police to courthouse shootings suspect Brian Nichols - and runaway bride Jennifer Wilbanks made deals for their stories with publishing houses in the past week. The women likely received advances of about $500,000 for story rights that could turn into a windfall of millions of dollars should movies on their lives be made, entertainment experts said. The companies that acquired the rights have declined to release financial details of the deals. Smith and Wilbanks weren't the only ones striking high-profile deals.
· Update: Ex-Atlanta Hostage Receives $70K Reward. The woman who said she gained the trust of suspected courthouse gunman Brian Nichols by talking about her faith while he held her hostage was presented with $70,000 in reward money Thursday for helping authorities capture him.
Ashley Smith, a 26-year-old widowed mother of one, was held for seven hours by Nichols at her suburban Atlanta home March 12 before he let her go. She then made the 911 call that led to his arrest. "My life is testimony that God can use us even in the midst of tragedy and miracles do happen," she said.
· Escape Plans Found in Nichol's Ga. Cell. Authorities found hand-drawn escape plans in the cell of a man accused of going on a deadly courthouse rampage, the sheriff said. After the March 11 attack that ended in four deaths, authorities disclosed that a judge and prosecutors requested extra security for Brian Nichols after investigators found a handmade knife in each of his shoes.
· Ashley's tale of heartache. Before Ashley Smith became America's newest darling by convincing alleged Atlanta courthouse killer Brian Nichols to surrender, her life was like a classic country-and-Western song - full of hard luck and heartache. But faith gave Smith the strength to overcome her addictions and survive her seven-hour ordeal as Nichols' hostage. Now it appears that faith will be rewarded financially.
· Atlanta police [Finally] admit mistakes in shootings. The city’s embattled police department acknowledged Friday that it made mistakes just after last week’s deadly courthouse rampage, and the chief revealed that the suspect spent as many as 12 hours undetected outside a busy mall.
· Atlanta Hostage Had 'Tough' Life. Ashley Smith, the hostage who turned in the suspect in the Atlanta courthouse shootings, didn't always make the right choices. She married a man who was a hard worker, but he liked hanging out with 'the guys' — the same crowd who might have been behind his stabbing death 3½ years ago. As a teen, she was arrested for shoplifting and was on probation for a year. Later came arrests for drunken driving, speeding and battery.
· Police Restrain GMA Booker During 'Today' Interview. Atlanta police handcuffed Good Morning America booker Mike Nagel this morning after complaints about his disorderly conduct. GMA's Nagel was trying to interrupt NBC's interview with Atlanta hostage Ashley Smith this morning. After being arrested, he tried to slander NBC by saying he worked for NBC - not ABC.
ABC obviously wanted an exclusive interview with Ashley Smith. And they thought they had it: They were under the impression that they were the only network morning show with the Smith interview. But Smith's attorney had arranged for NBC's 'Today' show to pre-tape an interview with her prior to 7am.
ABC seemed to condone the GMA booker's actions by issuing a statement saying that "'Good Morning America' is blessed to have a top-notch staff of aggressive producers," the network said this afternoon. [Note: This story first released on Media Bistro with video confirmation by Access Hollywood].
· Ga. Courthouse Reopens Amid Tight Security. Nervous workers and visitors lined up Monday as the Courthouse reopened under heightened security in the wake of the slayings of a judge, deputy and court reporter three days earlier.
· Ga. Woman Taken Hostage by Suspect in Atlanta Courthouse Slayings Recounts Her Hours With Gunman. For hours, Ashley Smith gently talked to the armed suspect in Atlanta's courthouse slayings, turning from hostage to confidant as they discussed God, family, pancakes and the massive manhunt going on outside her apartment.
· 'I believe God brought him to my door.' Just two days after moving into her apartment, Ashley Smith is up late unpacking. About 2 a.m. Saturday, the 26-year-old runs out of cigarettes and heads to a local convenience store to buy a pack. When she returns, she sees a man in a truck waiting outside her door. She had seen the man earlier, but didn't think much of it.
· Atlanta's 26 hours of fear. In the end, Brian Nichols gave up without a struggle in a peaceful but curious conclusion to a violent rampage that left four people dead and a city on edge.
· Hostage reads 'Purpose-Driven Life' to alleged Atlanta killer. Ashley Smith, the Atlanta-area woman taken hostage by the subject of the largest manhunt in Georgia history March 12, calmed the alleged killer by reading an excerpt from "The Purpose-Driven Life" and talking with him about God. She escaped by persuading him to let her pick up her daughter from an AWANA children's program at a Southern Baptist church.
» Read & Purchase "The Pupose-Driven Life." The spiritual premise in The Pupose-Driven Life is that there are no accidents - God planned everything and everyone. Therefore, every human has a divine purpose, according to God's master plan.
· LA TIMES: Best-Selling Book Figured Into Atlanta Hostage's Release. Orange County, Calif., pastor Rick Warren's book of Christian guidance, "The Purpose-Driven Life," has sold more than 21 million copies in more than 30 languages and, his publisher says, has helped countless Christians navigate questions of personal faith. But a single chapter read aloud Saturday in a suburban Atlanta apartment might well become the book's biggest success story.
· Ashley Smith Hostage Account. Ashley Smith said the ordeal began around 2 a.m. Saturday morning with Nichols sticking a gun in her side and tying her up. But Nichols, who is accused of killing three people at the courthouse Friday and a federal agent later, eventually let Smith go to see her young daughter, she said.
· Courtroom Massacre Hostage Kept Cool. For hours, Ashley Smith gently talked to the armed suspect in Atlanta's courthouse slayings, turning from hostage to confidant as they discussed God, family, pancakes and the massive manhunt going on outside her apartment.
» Transcript: 'I wanted to gain his trust.' Ashley Smith was held hostage in her apartment by courthouse shooting suspect Brian Nichols. She spent several hours with him before getting away and calling 911.
» Cops: 'She acted very cool and levelheaded.' He tied her up and told her to sit in the bathroom while he took a shower. “He said, ‘I’m not going to hurt you if you just do what I say,”’ she said. He told her: “I don’t want to hurt you. I don’t want to hurt anybody else.”
· Ga. Woman Held Hostage Describes Ordeal. For hours, Ashley Smith gently talked to the armed suspect in Atlanta's courthouse slayings, turning from hostage to confidant as they discussed God, family, pancakes and the massive manhunt going on outside her apartment. "I believe God brought him to my door," Smith said Sunday, only hours after her 911 call ended a manhunt for Brian Nichols, who is accused of shooting four people since Friday.
· Ashlee Smith, Atlanta hero, describes ordeal. The woman held hostage in her apartment by the suspect in Atlanta's courthouse slayings said Sunday that her ordeal began with the man sticking a gun in her side and tying her up, but ended with the weapons on the floor as he let her go to see her young daughter.
· Security Gaffes Cited in Courthouse Spree. The deputy, a 51-year-old woman just 5 feet tall, was simply no match for the inmate she was escorting to the courtroom, a 6-foot-1, 200-pound former college linebacker on trial for rape. Authorities say Brian Nichols overpowered deputy Cynthia Hall (photo right), took her gun, and easily gained access to the courtroom, where he went on to kill the judge and a court reporter. Security cameras captured images of him overpowering the deputy, but no one, it turned out, was watching the screens.
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