A New Hampshire man was convicted on Thursday of murdering his wife's co-worker before forcing her to behead him in a gruesome September 2020 incident.
Armando Barron, 32, shot and killed 25-year-old Jonathan Amerault in a park just across the Massachusetts state line. The motive the state provided for the murder was jealousy and rage–a hate that brewed for quite some time after the defendant realized his wife, 33-year Britany Barron, was messaging the victim on Snapchat.
Barron Saw Amerault as an 'Abercrombie Model' Who Had Just Started Seeing His Wife
"The defendant had all the motive to kill Jonathan, because for him, Jonathan was a man who had just started seeing his wife," prosecutor Benjamin Agati said during closing arguments. "A man who his wife thought looked like an Abercrombie model, a man who was at her workplace that he now knew was talking to his wife behind his back. The man that he instantly saw as a rival."
Before the shooting, Britany testified that her husband choked and dragged her before repeatedly punching her in the face over the Snapchat messages. After that, she told jurors, he shoved a gun in her mouth, promised to kill her, collected himself, made sure their kids were with their grandmother, and put his killing plan into action.
'You're Trying to F**k My Wife?'
"We're gonna message your little boyfriend," the defendant told his wife as the two sat alone in their car at the park. Amerault was ambushed by Armando when he arrived at the park, where he was lured using Brittany's cell phone and asked to come out late that night.
"You're trying to fuck my wife?" the defendant asked Amerault as the three finally met on Sept. 25, 2020, Britany testified earlier this month. "And he starts hitting him. He just starts hitting him."
Armando Forced Brittany to Kill Amerault
Britany said the victim fell to the ground and was repeatedly kicked by her husband, who stomped on Amerault's face at least once. Then, when her husband relented for a while, he trained his gun on her and forced her to take part in the beating by standing on the victim's neck. Then, according to the testimony, her husband forced her to slit Amerault's wrists. After that, the witness said, her husband hacked at the victim with a machete.
When pressed to kill Amerault, the witness said, with the gun in her hand and her husband's palms over her own in an effort to guide her into pulling the trigger, she said she adamantly refused. Eventually, Amerault was forced into the trunk of his own hatchback by Armando who then shot him thrice.
Brittany said her husband then followed her for 200 miles to a campsite. There, she said, Armando Barron made her behead Amerault and then left her alone to dispose of his body. For her role in heeding her husband's demands and attempting to cover up the crime, Britany Barron eventually pleaded guilty to three counts of falsifying evidence. She was released from prison in April after serving some eight months of a three-and-a-half year sentence.
Armando Tried to Pin Murder on Brittany
Armando Barron's defense attorney Meredith Lugo attempted to pin the actual slaying on her client's wife; saying the "wrong person" was on trial and trying to contradict her testimony through the use of physical evidence. Jurors in Cheshire County didn't take to that story.
"Her claims are like something out of a TV movie; not real life," Lugo argued to no avail. "They are sensationalized to make Armando seem like a monster and her seem like a tragic victim." Armando faces life in prison without the possibility of parole.
