A man who authorities said set fire to a motel room in west Athens three months ago is now facing a homicide charge for the fire in which his girlfriend perished.
On the day of the fire at America’s Best Inn that killed 34-year-old Anita Danzer Watson, Richard McGaha was charged with second-degree criminal damage. He was subsequently charged with the additional offenses of reckless conduct and entering an automobile for having entered another motel guest’s truck and stealing a carton of cigarettes, a lighter, a flashlight, a GPS unit and a power drill, according to police.