True Crime Society - The beheading murder of Jonathan Amerault

Jonathan Amerault was murdered by Armando Barron and his wife Britany. The murder occurred in 2020 and the trial has just concluded in May 2022.

Jonathan (25) and Britany (33) worked together at a Teleflex, a biomedical company in Jaffrey, NH.

Jonathan was an avid hiker who had summitted all but one of the 67 mountains in northern New England that are at least 4,000 feet.

He had received honors for his volunteer work at the Boys & Girls Club of Souhegan Valley in Milford, New Hampshire, which he had attended in his youth and later became a camp counselor. His nickname was ‘Abercrombie’ because of his wholesome looks. He seemed like a really nice, sweet guy.

You can read Jonathan’s obituary here.

Britany and Armando got married when they were teenagers and they had three children together. According to court documents, Britany had recently told Armando that she wanted a divorce.

“I told him that I wasn’t in love with him anymore,” Britany later told the media. “But I thought we were really good parents together.”

After Britany told Armando about the divorce, he choked her until she became unconscious. Britany later said that she thought she was going to die.

Armando (32) got angry when he went through Britany’s phone and found texts between her and Jonathan. He accused her of having an extra-marital affair.

Jonathan’s family deny there was an affair. “All he did was respond to her text messages for eight days, during the last 10 days of his life,” Justine Amerault, Jonathan’s mother told the media.

After he found the texts, Armando physically assaulted Britany. “Don’t do anything stupid or the girls are going to walk into something (expletive) gruesome,” Britany recalled that Armando said to her as they left their home. He sent the couple’s three children to their grandmother’s home next door, she said.

She said that Armando made her read the texts out loud to him and after finishing each text, Armando would hit her.

In September 2020, Armando used Britany’s phone to message Jonathan. He asked Jonathan to meet at a park (under the guise of it being Britany messaging). Jonathan traveled to the park and there he encountered both Britany and Armando.

Armando violently assaulted Jonathan and he forced Britany to take part. Armando tried to get Britany to kill Jonathan and she refused, so Armando shoved him into his own vehicle before shooting him three times.

This info about Jonathan’s injuries is from an article by wcax.com

Amerault had wounds from two bullets to his legs and arms, and one to his head, that were not considered lethal. Those two bullets likely exited and reentered his body.. It’s possible he might have been positioned on his side at the time, bent at the waist and knees

Bruises on Amerault’s forehead and cheek were in a zigzag pattern, Chief Medical Examiner Jennie Duval testified, adding that “they look very much like footwear impressions.”

As the trial started, Armando’s team tried to imply that Britany was the real killer.

Britany testified during the trial that Armando had forced her to slit Jonathan’s wrists and to stand on his neck.

“Jonathan begged for his life,” prosecutors said in a court document.

Britany asked to be referred to by her maiden name of Mitchell during the trial. She also testified that after he shot Jonathan, Armando had forced her to drive the car 200 miles (320 kilometers) north to a remote campsite. There, she said, she was forced to behead Jonathan using a saw and a knife. She later told the court that Armando wanted Jonathan’s body to be unidentifiable by dental records. Armando left her at the site, telling her to dispose of the body.

Britany buried Jonathan’s head and wrapped his body in a tarp. “I’m in big trouble,” she told New Hampshire Fish and Game conservation officers who found her at the campsite two days later, according to a police affidavit.

Britany also testified that Armando threatened her with a gun and physically assaulted her. She said he put a gun into her mouth. Police said she had bruises around her eyes and to her nose, marks on her neck, and a chipped tooth.

Some more info about the alleged relationship between Britany and Jonathan came out during the trial. Attorneys said that it was a flirtatious relationship that was mostly carried out through texts and social media.

Britany explained that she and Jonathan had worked closely together on a project, just days before he died. The pair shared a quick kiss in one instance and another during a work break the day before Armando discovered the texts.

“We were just talking … and we were talking about work,” she said. “And then he just leaned over and he kissed me. … It wasn’t just a peck.”

“I said I couldn’t offer anything more than friendship,” she testified. When asked if she wanted to start a relationship with Jonathan, she said: “I thought there might have been potential, but I wasn’t planning on a relationship,” according to the video of her testimony, CBS News reported.

On May 26, 2022, Armando was convicted of first-degree murder, which carries a mandatory sentence of life without parole. A judge imposed additional time as recommended by prosecutors for other crimes, including kidnapping, criminal solicitation and assault.

“Your actions were brutal. They were also horrific, they were selfish, and they were completely senseless,” Judge Elizabeth Leonard told Barron. “The abject cruelty, the pain and suffering and all that you inflicted on Jonathan that night is unfathomable.”

Jonathan’s parents made statements following the verdict:

“The only good thing I see about all this heinous, heinous crime is that you are not 40 years old, 50 or 60, but only 30 years old. You have a long, long time to fade away and rot in prison,” Kenny Amerault said.

“My son Jonathan was a thousand times more of a man than this lowlife could ever even dream of being,” Justine Amerault said. “The loss of Jonathan to this world is incredibly sad.

“Throughout his life Jonathan was surrounded by hundreds of the most wholesome good people … coworkers, friends and family,” his mother said, adding, “it’s beyond comprehension that such a beautiful young man should die in the presence of two such filthy, evil creatures.”

Britany pleaded guilty in 2021 to three counts of falsifying evidence and was released from jail on parole in April 2022. She apologized to Jonathan’s family during her sentencing.