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Suzanne Renee Mericle (Hall County Sheriff’s Office).
The two sons of a slain Georgia man have sued the woman charged with killing him for wrongful death. The defendant, Suzanne Renee Mericle, 61, opened fire through the bedroom door after James David Barron, 68, backed away from an argument, according to the complaint viewed by Law&Crime.
“This family has suffered an unspeakable tragedy and this civil suit has been initiated to protect the family and their legal rights,” said the plaintiff statement, according to The Brunswick News. “The Barrons kindly request that their privacy be respected during this difficult time. Our firm generally does not comment on pending litigation and this is particularly true in a case like this, where an investigation is still ongoing. Therefore, we have no further comment at this time.”
Deputies in Hall County said they responded in early March to find Barron unresponsive and shot in the torso. Staffers at Northeast Georgia Medical Center Gainesville pronounced him dead. Mericle, who runs the Mericle Dentistry, is charged with felony murder, aggravated assault under the Family Violence Act, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime.
According to the lawsuit, the couple had lived together at a home on the 4200 block of Bayridge Drive in the city of Gainesville, Georgia. She allegedly got into an argument with Barron on the night of the shooting.
“At no relevant time did Decedent Barron ever physically assault or batter Defendant Mericle,” the complaint said. “During the argument, Decedent Barron removed himself from the argument and retreated to an upstairs bedroom locking himself inside.”
Mericle allegedly got a gun, and as Barron was locked inside the bedroom, Mericle “negligently and/or intentionally fired at least one shot through the closed door of the bedroom.”
This fatally wounded him, but he lingered.
“Decedent Barron did not die instantaneously from the gunshot wound(s),” the complaint stated. “Instead, Decedent Barron lived for at least several minutes after he was shot, and he experienced extreme mental and physical conscious pain and suffering from the time he was shot until the time he ultimately passed away.”
