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‘Unhinged jealousy’ or self-defense? Jury weighs fate of dentist accused of murdering boyfriend in Lake Lanier home
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Suzanne Mericle sits in Hall County Superior Court Wednesday, March 18, 2026, for the first day of her murder trial. Mericle has been indicted on charges of malice murder, felony murder and tampering with evidence, among other offenses killing her boyfriend 68-year-old James David Barron at their Lake Lanier home last year. - photo by Scott Rogers
Jurors in the murder trial of retired St. Simons Island dentist Suzanne Mericle heard passionate closing arguments Thursday, as the prosecution and defense offered starkly different accounts of how and why her longtime boyfriend, 68-year-old James David Barron, was shot to death inside their Lake Lanier home in March 2025.