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[Music] foreign [Music] it's February 3rd 2020 set the scene for me what happened I'm sitting at my desk
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at my office that was it and the phone rings and it's the police chief at least I got Seth Perrault on the phone he's
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told me his wife had killed herself Seth Perrault and his wife Amanda lived in this house in Eatonton Georgia
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Seth a police officer with the Eatonton Police Department told the county sheriff Howard sales that Amanda had
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shot herself in the head what did he say happened he said that they weren't bad and they were arguing
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and then all of a sudden she just produced the gun out of thin air and executed herself so I just sat there and
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watched my wife execute herself in all my years of questioning anybody for suicide I have never heard anybody use
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the term executed from the very beginning Amanda's sisters Angie and Alicia Johnson say they had questions
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about what happened we knew better we knew our sister I made a love life she wouldn't put us
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through this we know our sister didn't do this we know she didn't take her own life that
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he had something to do with this sheriff sells says that as soon as he began investigating Amanda's death he became
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suspicious of Seth and what he had said happened at their home while looking at your faces as a law
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enforcement officer I did not do any I had nothing to do with it I knew something around the day I walked
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in the house for starters the position of Amanda's body depicted in this 48 Hours animation based on crime scene
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photos left Sills certain that Amanda could not have shot herself had you ever seen a suicide that looked
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like I didn't say anything like that her body is flat on the back her legs are almost together and her arms are
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tucked against her side with her hands cut this wasn't right just two days after Amanda's death former Eatonton
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police officer Seth Perrault was taken into custody Sheriff Sills called me and let me know
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that they were going to arrest him for her murder and I my whole family just was so
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relieved and and happy that she was getting Justice yes before a grand jury could hear the
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evidence and decide if there was enough to go to trial kovid shut down the courts peralt sat in jail for nearly
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nine months until the medical examiner issued her report on the cause of death months later
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the medical examiner's report comes out and what does it say suicide well I was astounded I'm Justin Kinney
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an attorney for Seth Perrault Dr darison is a renowned medical examiner so her certification of suicide we thought was
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basically open shot you have to remember she works for the state Dr darison's decision was based primarily on the lack
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of gunpowder around the wood which meant that the gun had to have been right up against Amanda's head when it went off
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and there were no signs of a struggle nobody is just going to allow somebody to put a gun to their head and pull the
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trigger without putting up some sort of fight when covid restrictions finally eased a grand jury had to decide whether
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there was enough evidence against him to go to trial and you know the first thing I put up
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for that grand jury to see the crime scene pictures no ma'am the autopsy report that said suicide
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ladies and gentlemen the State Crime Lab medical examiner says this was a suicide
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now I'm going to show you the evidence I found the grand jury quickly came to a conclusion peralt should go to trial
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what were the charges Mouse murder felony murder and aggravated assault peralt pled not guilty to all charges at
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his trial in February 2022 he decided not to testify leaving defense attorney Justin Kenny to tell his story Kenny
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says the hardest thing for the defense to explain was the way Amanda's body was found we knew that it was going to be a
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problem the body had to be moved in some way had to be touched in some way but Kenny provided an explanation something
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peralt said in his interview with Sheriff Sills I probably did touch her I was probably
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hugging you out of her and that would potentially account for her arms being by her sides as the trial concluded
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district attorney Barksdale hoped Alicia and Angie Johnson were going to be able
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to get Justice for their sister were you worried at all about the verdict when I
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try to remind myself it is my job to pursue Justice and to present a case for the jury to consider and if they were to
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walk him out the door I would be able to look to Amanda Perot's family and say we did everything we could