Victim’s Ex-Wife Slams Suzanne Mericle as ‘Volatile’ During Emotional Sentencing

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[00:00:00]the courts of truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. I help you God.

[00:00:02]>> I do.

[00:00:02]>> Thank you. You can have a seat.

[00:00:06]>> Would you state your name again for the record?

[00:00:09]>> Beth Baron.

[00:00:10]>> And Miss Baron, um, you you were married to, uh, David Baron, correct?

[00:00:14]>> I was.

[00:00:15]>> How long can you just give us the dates of when you were married?

[00:00:18]>> Um, we were married in 1979. So, we were married 22 years.

[00:00:24]>> So, 1979 plus 22 years, >> right?

[00:00:27]>> Okay.

[00:00:28]And uh throughout that 22 years uh was Mr. Bear never physically violent towards you?

[00:00:37]>> No. Never.

[00:00:39]>> Was he did you ever fear that he might become physically violent towards you?

[00:00:45]>> Never. No.

[00:00:47]>> What was his uh demeanor like throughout your marriage?

[00:00:52]David was calm, collected, cool, loving.

[00:00:58]He was very respectful of me. Um, he loved our family. He was a great family man, good father, um, a good grandfather, just a wonderful guy.

[00:01:12]>> Yeah.

[00:01:13]>> When you would get into arguments, as every married couple does, like what would those arguments look like?

[00:01:20]David usually retreated from an argument. He did not like confrontation and he would just try to leave the situation after uh your marriage ended. Did did you remain close with David?

[00:01:39]>> I did.

[00:01:40]>> How often would you speak with him?

[00:01:41]Would you say up until the day of his birth? a few weeks.

[00:01:45]We talked about children and grandchildren and just events in our lives.

[00:01:51]>> How was the co-parenting relationship between you and David?

[00:01:54]>> It was good. It was good. We worked it out.

[00:01:59]>> And is there anything else that you'd like for the court to know about how this has impacted you?

[00:02:06]>> Yeah. Um, I do have a statement.

[00:02:13]Um, David was the foundation of our family, the patriarch. He was the leader of our tribe. Excuse me.

[00:02:23]He was respected and we loved him dearly. He was a gentleman, a kind soul, a truly good human. He was generous and fun-loving.

[00:02:35]He was a talented athlete and a su a success in business.

[00:02:40]and in his community. He was large and larger than life. He was the oldest brother, father of Evan and Colt, and grandfather to Emmy Brook, Maddie, Charlie, and Tyler. He was an uncle, a cousin, a friend, and a mentor.

[00:02:58]And on March 8th, he was taken away from us, killed in the worst way, shot behind a locked door by a jealous, selfish, crazed person.

[00:03:12]Suzanne not only took his life, but also tried to defile his character during the trial in the most vulgar way possible.

[00:03:23]The impact of her actions have left our family with a void that cannot be filled. The pain I have seen in Evan and Cole this year has been horrendous.

[00:03:33]Our hearts are completely broken.

[00:03:37]And I have not seen one ounce of remorse in Suzanne. No guilt, no sorrow, no shame in what she has done to our family.

[00:03:47]No tears, just a blank stare.

[00:03:51]And I would like to ask the court for the maximum punishment for Zan for Suzanne today. Life with no parole.

[00:04:00]>> Thank you, ma'am. No other questions.

[00:04:04]>> I have just one just one.

[00:04:07]>> Um and it's obvious that you have a very deep affection for your ex-husband. Um, and I know that you feel very strongly about um, how he was supportive of you and of the family even after your divorce. Mhm.

[00:04:27]>> Um it and just to I guess just to complete the picture if you will, >> um >> it would be fair to say um and I think you've said before >> that um the biggest issue that you had really in your relationship with David was um with alcohol. Is that fair?

[00:04:52]>> No, I've never said that. You didn't have an issue with him with drinking in the end of your marriage? No, >> no, not at all. That was not our lifestyle. He went to church. We were um he taught Sunday school. That was not our life and that was not our lifestyle at that point. So, I don't know beyond that, but alcohol was not an issue with us.

[00:05:14]>> Okay. Thank you.

[00:05:19]>> And Laura, >> you're excused. Thank you. They called Phillips.

[00:05:50]And if you could, ma'am, raise your right hand.

[00:05:53]>> Do you swear or affirm the testimony or give the courts the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth to help you God?

[00:05:58]>> I do.

[00:05:58]>> Thank you. You can have a seat.

[00:06:01]>> And can you say your name for the record?

[00:06:04]>> Laura Phillips.

[00:06:06]>> And uh were you married to David Baron?

[00:06:09]>> Yes.

[00:06:10]>> Uh what were the years of your marriage to him?

[00:06:18]2004 into 2014.

[00:06:22]>> Okay.

[00:06:24]So, 10 years you were married, >> but we've been seeing together almost 3 years.

[00:06:32]>> Three years.

[00:06:32]>> Living together?

[00:06:33]>> Yes.

[00:06:33]>> Okay.

[00:06:34]>> Mhm.

[00:06:35]>> And throughout that 10 years of marriage, was uh Mr. Baron ever physically violent to you?

[00:06:42]>> Never.

[00:06:43]>> Did you ever fear that he may become physically violent?

[00:06:47]No.

[00:06:48]>> Um, tell me about what his demeanor was like throughout your marriage.

[00:06:52]>> He was a caring, kind, gentle soul.

[00:07:00]>> And um, when you would get into arguments, what would those arguments look like with David?

[00:07:10]>> We didn't have arguments.

[00:07:12]>> What about disagreements? Did you ever get into disagreements? Of course.

[00:07:16]>> And what would those disagreements look like?

[00:07:23]>> I wouldn't even describe it as disagreements. We always worked it out together.

[00:07:29]>> Was there ever any yelling between the two of you in your marriage?

[00:07:32]>> Never.

[00:07:34]>> And um at some point throughout your marriage, did um David begin to drink alcohol more than when you first met him?

[00:07:42]We drank socially.

[00:07:45]>> How what was his behavior like when he would drink alcohol?

[00:07:51]>> He was a happy person.

[00:07:55]>> So like you know some people get angry when they drink. Some people get happy giggly when they drink. Like how would you describe his behavior when he would get intoxicated?

[00:08:04]>> Happy and giggly.

[00:08:06]>> Um what about when he would like drink too much? Like what would happen then?

[00:08:15]Um, he would just take a nap.

[00:08:21]>> Take a nap, >> right?

[00:08:22]>> Just get sleepy, >> right?

[00:08:24]>> Would he ever get physically violent or aggressive when he would drink alcohol?

[00:08:29]>> Never.

[00:08:31]>> Is there anything else that you'd like for the court to know about how this has impacted you?

[00:08:38]>> Yes.

[00:08:41]I never ever imagined that this would ever happen to David.

[00:08:54]He was very kind and caring to me and my family and certainly his side of the family.

[00:09:02]We coexisted very well, loving, caring, respectful, and it deeply saddens me that this is how it ended his life through a volatile psychotic woman.

[00:09:27]and it's extremely tragic and I'm deeply hurt myself personally.

[00:09:33]Um he was a good friend even after our divorce we stayed in contact and I feel for the family and I pray for the family to move forward in memory of their father beloved grandfather and I miss him as a friend too.

[00:09:57]And and did you remain friends with him up until the day that he was killed?

[00:10:01]>> Yes.

[00:10:02]>> And up until the day that he was killed, did you ever see Did his behavior ever change from what you knew him as when you were married?

[00:10:09]>> No.

[00:10:10]>> Thank you. I don't have any other questions.

[00:10:11]>> No questions. Thank you.

[00:10:12]>> Thank you for your testimony.

[00:10:17]>> Um, judge, the state has no more rebuttal evidence. We just have uh victim impact statements. So, as far as procedurally speaking, would draw on our light for us to move into the rest of the victim impact statements.