A New Hampshire man and his wife have been arrested and charged with the murder of the wife’s lover. According to the Keene Sentinel, 30-year-old Armando Barron had discovered that his wife, 31-year-old Britany Barron, was having an affair with 25-year-old Jonathan Amerault on September 19, 2020, after going through her phone. He then forced her to participate in the man’s murder and decapitation, according to police.
Armando Barron lured his wife’s lover to Annett State Forest in Rindge, in southern New Hampshire, using her cellphone. After Amerault arrived, Barron assaulted him, according to an affidavit cited by the Sentinel. Barron then ordered his wife to shoot Amerault, but she refused; however, she capitulated when he ordered her to slit Amerault’s wrists. Armando Barron then shot Amerault, according to the Sentinel.
Barron shot him in his chest twice and once in his head. The Barrons then took Amerault’s car and drove to a campsite in northern New Hampshire, stopping on the way to buy lighter fluid, household cleaner, tarps and a shovel, the Sentinel reported. It was at the campsite that he ordered his wife to decapitate Amerault’s head from his body and bury his head and body separate. According to the affidavit, the Sentinel reported, Armando Barron ordered her to do this so Amerault’s identity couldn’t be identified by dental records. After destroying Amerault’s phone, Barron demanded his wife text her friends and say that she would be “leaving for a while to clear her head.”
Barron then left his wife with two guns to protect herself from wildlife, including the one used to kill Amerault, and said he would return the following Friday, the Sentinel reported. She attempted to clean Amerault’s car while at the campsite, the outlet reported.
A missing persons report was filed for Amerault on September 21, 2020, according to a news release from the New Hampshire State Police.
According to the Sentinel, two hunters saw Britany Barron at the campsite multiple times on the days following Amerault’s killing and on September 22 told her she wasn’t allowed to camp there. They later called the New Hampshire Fish and Game to report the violation. Two conservation officers then came and “advised her that she should not be camping in that area,” the Sentinel reported, adding that they saw an object later identified as Amerault’s vehicle under a tarp covered with sticks.
“The officers noticed her black eyes and bruises on her neck as they told her to clean up and leave, and she walked away from the campsite” with them, the Union Leader reported.
But when they saw a tarp in the nearby brook that looked like it might be wrapped around a body, they “called state police and handcuffed the woman,” according to the Union Leader. When a state trooper investigated the tarp in the brook, “blood poured into the water,” the outlet reported, and a medical examiner later unwrapped the tarp to reveal the beheaded corpse.
Britany Barron has pleaded not guilty to three counts of tampering with evidence, and Armando Barron pleaded not guilty to capital murder, WHDH reported.
Barron Beat His Wife After Finding out About the Affair With Amerault, Her Attorney Claims
Before they left their home, Barron physically assaulted his wife, “hitting her face and her head and leaving her with two black eyes, a bloody nose and a chipped tooth,” the Union Leader reported. According to the outlet, Britany Barron told police her husband had “put a gun in her mouth” and “choked her until she passed out.”
“This really started with her being beaten severely,” her defense attorney Guerriero said during a court appearance, according to the Sentinel. “If you look at her face right now … she still has the bruising on her face and around her eyes and it’s described in the affidavit. Armando beat her severely and threatened her. He put a gun in her mouth, an obvious threat to kill her.”
Amerault and Britany Barron both worked at Teleflex Medical OEM, a medical supply company in Jaffrey, New Hampshire, the Sentinel noted. According to InDepthNH.org, “Amerault had hiked 99 of the 100 New England Highest Hikes and 66 of the 67 New England 4,000 foot mountains.”
The Barrons Are Being Held Without Bail
When she appeared via video for a court appearance, Guerriero tried to have Barron released with electronic monitoring, but her release was denied.
“She helped solve this crime. Rather than conceal evidence or falsify evidence, she led the police directly to evidence,” Guerriero said, according to The Associated Press. “She was beyond cooperative. It’s hard to imagine being beaten like that, threatened with your life, being fearful and then cooperating with the police, but that’s what she did.”
The Barrons are both being held without bail.
“Deep into the North Woods, the defendant decapitated Jonathan, wrapped his head in a tarp and placed in a grave in order to prevent investigators from identifying Jonathan if his body was ever found. The defendant then wrapped his body in a tarp and dragged him deeper into the woods where police found it in a shallow brook,” prosecutor Scott Chase said according to a transcript of the court appearance. “This was all with the intent to conceal a capital murder.”
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