It has been ranked as the number one non-sports program airing on Saturday nights for the past 16 years in a row, making 48 HOURS one of the most successful true-crime documentary programs in the history of television. On the evening of February 3, 2020, Putnam County Sheriff’s Deputy Terrell Abernathy was called to the residence of a police officer for the City of Eatonton, Georgia. Though no one answered the door, Abernathy told CBS News correspondent Anne-Marie Green a contributor to 48 HOURS, that he could tell someone was inside. Abernathy left for the Perraults’ house again 20 minutes later. After Seth Perrault’s wife committed herself, he called the chief of police to tell him the news. But would a jury find in favor of you? Anne-Marie Green reflects on the events that led up to what took place on the day that Perrault announced that his wife had passed away. Here tvacute has investigated “The Death of an Officer’s Wife” Amanda Perrault.
“48 Hours” Investigates in “The Death of an Officer’s Wife” Amanda Perrault
Shortly after Amanda Perrault filed charges of abuse against her husband, Eatonton, Georgia, police officer Seth Perrault, reported that she had taken her own life by shooting herself. This occurred just a few days after the allegations were made. Right first, the detectives had a hard time believing what Perrault was saying. The sheriff obtained a warrant for Perrault’s arrest and placed him in custody after determining that there was probable cause to believe that he was responsible for the victim’s death, which included the position of her body in the couple’s bed at the time of the incident. However, once the autopsy report was made public by the medical examiner and it was revealed that Amanda had committed suicide, the attorney for Perrault stated that it would prove his client’s innocence.
On January 28, 2020, Amanda’s situation did worsen to the point where she needed to phone 911 to report that her husband had physically assaulted her. She said that he had hit her in the face. After Seth Perrault was taken into custody on that day, Amanda requested that her sister Angie Johnson come and get her first thing in the morning. Instead of that, Amanda went to the hearing for her husband’s bond. Amanda was asked by the judge whether or not she desired an order of protection prior to the bail being set for Seth Perrault. She refused, and then she invited her husband inside the house. Amanda passed away after five days.
Angie and Alesha Johnson, two of Amanda Perrault’s sisters, told Green that they knew the marriage was bad and that they had asked their sister several times if they should call 911. “She’d say, “No.
Some of the Perraults’ neighbors were interviewed as part of the case. They said they could hear the couple fighting almost every day. Seth Perrault was almost always the aggressor. One neighbor said that he would sometimes keep an eye on the fights from his yard in case they got really bad. When asked why they never called the police, their neighbors said it was because Seth Perrault was the police.
The sheriff believed he had enough evidence to seek a warrant for Seth Perrault’s arrest just days after the incident, and the suspect was promptly detained. As Seth Perrault waited in jail for possible indictment and trial, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s medical examiner revealed Amanda Perrault’s autopsy report, which shocked everyone. In this case, Dr. Lora Darrisaw determined that suicide was the cause of death.
48 Hours Season 36 Episode 15 Release Date
48 Hours Season 36 Episode 15 “The Death of an Officer’s Wife” will air on the CBS Television Network from 10:00-11:00 PM Eastern Time/Pacific Time (ET/PT) on Saturday, January 28, and will also be available to stream on Paramount+.
