GAINESVILLE, Fla. — New witnesses took the stand Friday for day three of the murder trial involving a St. Simons Island dentist.
Suzanne Mericle is accused of shooting and killing her boyfriend, James David Barron, on March 7, 2025 in Gainesville, Georgia. During opening statements Wednesday, prosecutors claimed Mericle became ‘unhinged’ and ‘obsessed’ after learning Barron was sending money to a woman overseas, and she ‘lost it’ the night of the shooting. Mericle’s defense said she was being abused by Barron and he was violent with her the night of the shooting.
Mericle is accused of shooting Barron through a door inside their Lake Lanier home. Both the prosecutors and defense established the couple had been fighting that night about a woman named Lilia. Barron locked himself in a room upstairs with Mericle’s phone, a set of car keys, and his gun. Body camera video from that night shows Mericle telling investigators that she shot at the door to try and open it. She wanted to get her phone from the room.
Victim’s son testifies
During the third day of the trial, prosecutors called Barron’s oldest son, Evan, to the witness stand. He said the family first met Mericle on a vacation in the summer of 2024…