WARNER ROBINS, Ga. — An Eatonton police officer is charged with murdering his wife less than a week after he was arrested for an alleged domestic dispute with her.
That happened just days after the woman turned down a court order suggested by a judge, that would have kept her husband away.
According to Putnam County Sheriff Howard Sills, the issue came up at a bond hearing for Eatonton Officer Michael Perrault after his first arrest last week.
Sills says the judge considered adding a bond condition that would have ordered Perrault to stay away from his wife, Amanda, but decided against it after she assured the judge it was was OK for him to come home.
Neighbors in Amanda Perrault's lakeside community say she will be missed.
Penny Dobbs called her "one of the most beautiful people I've ever met, very sweet, very kind."
The sheriff says conversations with family indicate she may have been suffering for some time.
"There appears to be a long history of domestic abuse," he said.
Sills later made it clear: protective court orders, like the one that a magistrate judge offered to Perrault, are never guarantees.
"Anything like that is not going to absolutely ensure that something isn't going to happen, but it is a tool that law enforcement has," he said.
So why would somebody not take one if it's offered?
Dottie Stafford with the Crisis Line and Safe House of Central Georgia says domestic abuse victims often return to their partners.
She was speaking generally about the issue, not specifically about the Perrault case.
"There's so many barriers that people face when leaving, it may be financial...it could be that the person is threatening and saying, 'I'm going to call family and have your children taken,'" she said.
The coercion often also involves threats of more violence.
"If you don't say the right things or what the person who is abusive wants you to say, then there's going to be a price to pay for that," said Stafford.
However, there are other resources available to women--and men--in abusive relationships, including a 24-hour crisis line and a shelter for survivors.
"There are a lot of different things we can do, even if it's just safety planning on the phone," she said.
In the wake of Amanda Perrault's death, her neighbor Penny Dobbs said she's doing some safety planning, too.
"It just means that we have to have a closer eye on each other," she said.
Stafford was very clear -- the decision to stay or to go is never the victim's fault, all the blame lies with the abuser -- and she stressed: help is available if you need it.
Crisis Line and Safe House offers a 24-hour support line for victims as well as support and shelter for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault.
They can be reached at 478-745-9292 and all services are free.
If you're concerned someone you care about is suffering abuse, the National Domestic Violence Hotline says you might feel an instinct to "save" the person.
However, as Dottie Stafford says, that could actually put your loved one in more danger.
The national hotline says the best thing you can do for the victim is acknowledge they are in a very difficult situation and show them you can be supportive without being judgmental.
The hotline says you can help them develop a safety plan whether they choose to stay, are preparing to leave, or have already left.
If you would rather chat online with someone from the crisis hotline, you can go to thehotline.org.
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