By DAMIEN FISHER, InDepthNH.org
The woman who sawed the head off her dead lover is pleading a duress defense claiming she was in fear for her life when she decapitated Jonathan Amerault’s body.
Britany Barron, 31, of Jaffrey, is being held without bail on three counts of falsifying physical evidence in the September 2020 murder of Amerault, 25, of Keene. Britany Barron’s husband, Armando Barron, 30, of Jaffrey, is being held without bail for the alleged murder of Amerault.
Richard Guerriero, Britany Barron’s attorney, filed a motion with the Coos Superior Court notifying the court and the state that he plans to argue his client acted out of fear of her husband.
“The reality is that Britany reasonably feared imminent bodily injury or death in the form of Armando continuing the vicious beating he had already begun and carrying out the threats he had already made if she did not do as Armando ordered her to do,” Guerriero wrote.
Senior Assistant Attorney General Benjamin Agati has previously argued that Britany Barron is not eligible for the duress defense, citing her actions on the night of Sept. 19, 2020, when her husband beat and tortured Amerault before killing him.
“The facts surrounding Jonathan’s murder, combined with the defendant’s destruction of evidence and desecration of his corpse, demonstrate the significant danger she poses to the general public,” Agati wrote in a motion to deny her bail.
Guerriero’s notice refutes that claim, stating that Britany Barron was subject to a vicious beating by her husband during which she thought she would die.
“He fractured her nose, blacking both eyes and rupturing a blood vessel in one eye. He beat her in the face and head causing additional bruises and splitting her scalp open. He choked her until she was unconscious. He put a gun in her mouth and threatened to kill her. He then tried to force her to kill Jonathan Amerault, but she refused,” Guerriero wrote. “She rightly believed that Armando would kill her or seriously injure her if she did not follow his orders to clean Amerault’s car, and to damage and hide Amerault’s body.”
Armando Barron reportedly found text messages between Britany Barron and Amerault before he beat her. He then used her cell phone to lure Amerault to a state park in Rindge where the murder took place, according to court records. Armando Barron allegedly beat and tortured Amerault, and tried and failed to get his wife to kill Amerault, according to court records. During a brief lull in the violence, Amerault begged Britany Barron to use a machete to attack her husband, but she seemed resigned to being killed, according to court records.
“Jonathan pleaded for the (Britany Barron) to ‘pick up the machete and kill him [referring to Mr. Barron].’ Jonathan told her, ‘Just pick up the machete and kill him.’ Britany told Jonathan, ‘You don’t understand, man. I’m not going to kill him with that blow, and we’re both going to die in this car,’” according to a state’s motion.
Shortly after this exchange, Armando Barron shot Amerault three times. The Barrons then went to their Jaffrey home and packed camping supplies before they drove up to a remote camping site in Atkinson and Gilmanton Academy Grant. Armando Barron drove his truck while Britany Barron drove Amerault’s car. At the campsite Britany Barron sawed Amerault’s head from his body, destroyed cell phones, and burned Amerault’s identifications, according to court records. She also buried his head and body in separate locations and hid the car under a tarp, according to court records.
“The State wrongly claims that Britany had opportunities to refuse Armando’s orders, to escape, or to warn others. The State fails to acknowledge the brutality of Britany’s circumstances and fails to recognize the reality of her fears,” Guerriero wrote.
The state is expected to present Guerriero with a plea offer for Britany Barron in the coming months.
