GAINESVILLE, Ga. — The state has rested in the trial for the St. Simons Island dentist accused of murder.
Suzanne Mericle is accused of shooting and killing her boyfriend, James David Barron, on March 7, 2025. Investigators said she shot him through a door in the home they share on Lake Lanier, Georgia. Prosecutors claimed Mericle became ‘unhinged’ after learning Barron was having an affair and sending money to a woman named Lilia. Her defense claimed she acted in self-defense because Barron was abusive.
Cross-examination lasts six hours
The state’s final witness finished his testimony Monday. Matthew Mefford, an investigator with the Hall County Sheriff’s Office, first took the stand Friday while prosecutors played a three-hour-long video of him questioning Mericle the night of the shooting.
Prosecutors concluded their questioning with internet search data from Mericle’s phone. According to the report, Mercile searched the Hall County jail roughly three hours before she first called 911 the night of the shooting. The defense pointed out that those searches were deleted according to the report…