The Putnam County Sheriff's Office and Georgia Bureau of Investigations are investigating the circumstances surrounding the death of a woman who recently reported that her husband, a Georgia police officer, abused her.
Amanda Perrault, 44, was found dead at her home in the 100 block of Long Island Drive in Eatonton, Georgia, Monday afternoon, Putnam County Sheriff Howard Sills told the Union Recorder. The victim was shot once in the head with a .380-caliber handgun, Sills said.
Her husband Michael Perrault, who was charged last week with simple battery, family violence and cruelty to children in the third degree, told police that in the midst of he and his wife arguing, she pulled out a gun and shot herself. He called police around 1:30 p.m. Monday to report what happened.
Sills described Perrault as “very distraught” when deputies and detectives arrived to the scene. He was later questioned, for nearly two hours, about the incident, but Perrault has not been arrested.
The bottom line is that he (Michael Perrault) says they were arguing and then she suddenly produced a gun and shot herself," Sills told the newspaper. "I've either got a suicide or a murder," Sills said. "That's what I have. I mean it's just that simple. It could be either way."
Perrault is still on administrative leave in light of last week’s charges.
On Jan. 31, Amanda Perrault told authorities that her husband, an Eatonton Police Department officer, hit and pushed her, Sills told the Lake Oconee News. The officer denied striking his wife. The couple’s 8-year-old daughter reported her parents were fighting, and said she witnessed her father shove her mom out of the entryway of their home.
Deputies on the scene reported seeing red marks on her neck and chest.
“The red marks on her chest are the only physical evidence, but when we have physical evidence, we have to make an arrest,” Sills said.
Last week, Perrault, 43, was released on a $1,500 bond. He has been an Eatonton police officer since 2018, Police Chief Kent Lawrence told the newspaper. Perrault previously worked in law enforcement in the Covington area.
Sills told the media Perrault’s death has not been ruled a suicide. The sheriff sought the help of the GBI office in Milledgeville to get assistance from its crime scene unit.
“I did that for a couple reasons,” Sills said. “One, this is a city police officer and I didn’t want anyone to think that was any inference that there was any kind of special treatment being done because he was a police officer. And very candidly, yes, it is being handled much differently because he is a police officer. It’s being scrutinized far more in that regard. And of course we have the incident of last week where he was arrested and charged with simple battery of his wife.”
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