Police Praise Atlanta Hostage

The hostage who helped end the 26-hour hunt for a man accused of killing a judge and three others had long talks with her captor during the 13 hours she was held in her own apartment, police said Sunday.

Police wouldn't release details about the woman, describing her only as a white female in her 20s to 30s, but they said they were impressed by the way she handled herself.

"She acted very cool and levelheaded. We don't normally see that in our profession," said Gwinnett County Police Officer Darren Moloney. "It was an absolutely best case scenario that happened, a complete opposite of what you expected to happen. We were prepared for the worst and got the best."

Suspect Brian Nichols, 33, surrendered Saturday after waving a white towel to the heavily armed SWAT team that had gathered outside the woman's apartment building.

Nichols did not say anything when he was arrested but was "very calm, very compliant with officers' directions to him in securing his arrest. He was very cooperative," Gwinnett County Police Chief Charles Walters said Sunday.

Nichols allegedly overpowered a courthouse deputy escorting him to his rape trial Friday and took the deputy's gun, then entered the courtroom where his trial was being held and killed the presiding judge and court reporter. He also is accused of killing a deputy who tried to stop him outside the courthouse and a federal agent during his flight from authorities.

About 100 people attended a memorial service at a church in Decatur, Ga., for the four victims of the shootings.

Police say Nichols drove a stolen vehicle to the woman's Gwinnett County apartment complex, which he may have picked at random, approached her as she was entering her apartment and introduced himself as a wanted man.

He apparently told her, "If you do what I say, I won't kill you," Georgia Bureau of Investigation Director Vernon Keenan said.

The two had some "pretty in-depth conversations" before the woman was able to leave and call police from the complex's leasing office. Authorities are not sure whether Nichols let the woman go or if she escaped on her own, Moloney said.

The call was the tip authorities needed.

"The bottom line is that law enforcement had no idea where he was — this victim, the community owes a tremendous debt to her because she kept her calm and provided us with the information that ultimately led to the arrest," Walters said.

The woman was not injured, and helped the SWAT team members find Nichols, Moloney said.

"She was very strong through the whole thing," he said.

While she was held hostage, she talked to Nichols about her young daughter, her late husband and God, authorities told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Atlanta police Chief Richard Pennington said he thought the woman appealed to Nichols on a spiritual level.

Nichols could appear in federal court as early as Monday to face a charge of possession of a firearm by a person under indictment, the charge authorities are using to keep Nichols in custody while they sort out charging in the slayings, said U.S. Attorney David Nahmias.

The Fulton County District Attorney's Office hopes to formally charge Nichols with the new crimes within 30 days, spokesman Erik Friedly said Sunday.

Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard still would like to resolve Nichols' interrupted rape retrial, Friedly said. Nichols faced a life sentence if convicted.

In that case, Nichols was accused of bursting into his ex-girlfriend's home with a loaded machine gun, binding her with duct tape and sexually assaulting her over three days. Nichols claimed the sex was consensual.

However, Nichols' defense attorney for the rape charge said continuing with that case would "seem to be a colossal waste of time and tax money."

"Obviously, the rape charge pales in comparison to everything else he is facing," defense attorney Barry Hazen said in a broadcast interview on Sunday.

The deputy who was overpowered at the courthouse remained in critical condition Sunday, Grady Memorial Hospital officials said. Although hospital officials initially reported the grandmother in her 50s may have suffered a grazing bullet wound to her forehead, they now believe she was struck on the head, said spokeswoman Denise Simpson.