By DAMIEN FISHER, InDepthNH.org
Prosecutors may have unfinished business in the murder of Keene man Jonathan Amerault, whose brutal slaying by Armando Barron shocked the world.
Court records show the Grafton Superior Court recently appointed an attorney for Armando Barron’s wife, Britany Barron, as a new investigation seems to be underway.
Armando Barron, 34, is in prison while appealing his May 2022 murder conviction. The jury found he beat and tortured Amerault, 25, before shooting him in September of 2020. Armando Barron then forced Britany Barron, 35, to drive the body hours north to a campground on the Maine border where she was forced to cut off Amerault’s head.
Despite the fact she was viciously abused by her husband, including having a loaded gun put in her mouth in the violent warm up before Amerault’s murder, prosecutors charged Britany Barron for the acts she made under duress.
Britany Barron pleaded guilty to three felony counts of falsifying physical evidence in the fall of 2021 and agreed to testify at her husband’s trial. Her riveting and gruesome testimony proved crucial to the state. She ended up sentenced to three and a half to seven years in prison, with two years suspended from the minimum and maximum sentences. She also got 377 days credit for time already served, setting up her parole in the spring of 2022.
But court records hint that some aspect of the case is newly active. In June, Britany Barron filed a motion in court requesting an attorney. Her motion is under seal, but was granted by the court. The apparent need Britany Barron has for an attorney is unknown.
Richard Guerriero, Britany Barron’s attorney, declined to answer specific questions about his recent appointment. However, Guerriero confirmed there’s a possibility for new charges that do not involve either Armando Barron or Britany Barron.
“There may be a further prosecution and Britany may be a witness,” Guerriero said. “I do not believe it is a further prosecution of Armando Barron.”
The New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office did not respond to a request for comment about the case.
According to court motions filed ahead of Armando Barron’s trial, the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office had recordings made of all of Armando Barron’s jail-house calls and visits, and had been translating Armando Barron’s conversations with friends and family from Spanish to English.
Armando and Britany Barron lived in Jaffrey with their young daughters in a duplex they shared with his mother, Marialena Robliedo and her boyfriend, Scott Rekas.
The investigation started as a missing person’s case when Amerault’s family reported he had not shown up to work in Jaffrey and was not at his Keene home. Investigators spoke to Robliedo and Rekas during the initial phase of their inquiry. Robliedo reportedly told police Armando and Britany Barron left town for a camping trip.
Britany Barron and Amerault both worked at MilliporeSigma in Jaffrey and developed a close relationship. Britany Barron was looking for an escape from her abusive marriage when she first met Amerault. They shared romantic text messages and kissed just a few times before Armando Barron discovered their relationship on the night of Sept. 19, 2020.
Armando Barron savagely beat his wife, stuck a loaded gun in her mouth, chipped her teeth and broke her nose, according to Britany Barron’s testimony. Armando Barron then lured Amerault to a secluded area of Annett Wayside Park in Rindge where he beat, stomped and tortured the younger man, all while Britany Barron was forced to watch.
“Look at her, look at her. Do you still think she’s pretty?” Armando Barron said, motioning to his bloodied and battered wife, whose eyes were swollen, head was covered with blood, and nose was broken.
“Jon looked at me, he said, ‘Yeah, I do,’” Britany Barron testified.
