Where was Nichols at that point?
He had driven to Duluth, North of Atlanta, where, at two in the morning, he encountered Ashley Smith getting out of her car at an apartment complex. He forced her into her apartment. Ashley Smith, as it turns out, is a rather remarkable 26-year-old. Here’s your link to read the remarkable story of what happened in Smith’s apartment. In short, after almost eight hours he lets her go. As she is leaving the apartment Nichols hands Smith $40 he has in his pocket, telling her that he would be needing the money. He also asks here if there is anything he can do around the apartment, like hanging pictures or curtains, while she’s gone. Smith leaves, calls 911, the SWAT team arrives, and Nichols surrenders.
