(WHDH) — A police officer who claimed that his wife committed suicide in front of him is now facing a charge of murder in connection with her death, authorities said.
Michael Perrault, 43, of the Eatonton Police Department in Georgia, was arrested Wednesday in the death of his wife, 44-year-old Amanda Perrault, Putnam County Sheriff Howard Sills told the Union Recorder.
Officers responding to the couple’s home on Long Island Drive on Monday afternoon found Amanda Perrault dead from an apparent gunshot wound to the head, the newspaper reported.
Sills told the paper that the fatal shooting happened in the couple’s bedroom following an argument. Michael Perrault is said to have initially told police that he watched his wife shoot herself after calling law enforcement to his home.
Michael Perrault was arrested just days before the alleged murder on misdemeanor charges of simple assault, according to the newspaper.
He has since been placed on unpaid administrative pending the outcome of an investigation.
Additional information was expected to be released at a Thursday press conference.
The incident remains under investigation.
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