Ex-Hostage Collects $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.
Now the question is: Will she keep her waitressing job?
"My life is testimony that God can use us even in the midst of tragedy and miracles do happen," she said.
According to CBS' Atlanta affiliate WGCL the reward money came from several stories including the city of Atlanta and the U.S. Marshal's office.
Smith was lauded at a ceremony during which she received a fistful of reward checks from Gov. Sonny Perdue and law enforcement agencies.
"We often hear of rewards being posted for information leading to the capture of a dangerous criminal. But we hardly ever about those rewards being actually presented to someone who has earned it," said Perdue.
"We did expect a fight. Either that or a suicide. None of that occurred. We never counted on Ashley Smith. We never took that into consideration," said Richard Meekham of the U.S. Marshals Service. "But, Ashley, with your calm demeanor and handling of the situation, with your cool-headed reasoning, you were able to overcome a very serious situation."
Thomas Smith, head of the state sheriffs association, saluted her for "your courage, your strength and your perseverance."
The woman has said she spoke with Nichols for hours about her daughter, her husband's stabbing deaths years ago and her faith in God. She said she told Nichols that he might be destined to be caught so he could spread the word of God to fellow prisoners.
In all, Smith received:
She previously received $2,500 from the Georgia Association of Chiefs of Police.
Nichols is accused of overpowering a courthouse deputy March 11, taking her gun from a lockbox and fatally shooting Superior Court Judge Rowland Barnes and his court reporter, Julie Brandau, on the day Barnes was to resume Nichols' rape trial.
Nichols also is accused of killing a sheriff's deputy outside the courthouse and a federal agent while he was on the run. He surrendered after a 26-hour manhunt.
Smith's grandfather, Dick Machovec, said the family planned to hire a financial adviser to help Smith manage the money.
"Hopefully, it's going to be used for education, it's going to be used to pay off some loans, it's going to be used to give a portion of it to the Lord," he said.
The former waitress has had a rough life, but recently, Smith's life had been improving. By March, she had finished six months of a medical assistant course, was working two jobs and had moved into a new apartment. She sees Paige about once a week.
Tony Cook, general manager of Barnacles Seafood, Oysters and Sports in Duluth, saw promise in Smith when he hired her as a waitress. She had been on the job, training, for just two days before becoming a hostage.
"She had a great personality, she was easy to talk to, and very likeable," Cook said.
Beyond this recent financial boost, Smith's ordeal may continue to change her life, reports CBS News Correspondent Jim Acosta: She's being offered lucrative book and movie deals.