
Wiretap Transcript
This transcript excerpt reflects a recorded conversation between Perry March and cellmate Russell Nathaniel Farris about a plot to kill the parents of Janet Levine March.
Father's Deposition
Arthur March admits he buried his daughter-in-law's body to protect his son (PDF).
Indictment
A grand jury indicted March for second-degree murder, abuse of a corpse and tampering with evidence.
Informant Order
The judge ruled that taped conversations between defendant Perry March and Russell Nathaniel Farris, a cellmate who claimed March solicited him to kill his missing wife's parents, were admissible.
Police Evidence Motion
The defense sought to exclude statements Perry March to police regarding the possibility of a plea deal following his arrest for his wife's murder.
Police Evidence Ruling
The judge denied the defense's attempt to keep statements March allegedly made to police, who claim he was "fixated" on cutting a deal following his arrest for murder.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Court TV) — A former Nashville attorney was convicted Thursday of murdering his wife, who disappeared 10 years ago without a trace.
After about 13 hours of deliberations over two days, the jury found Perry March, 45, guilty of second-degree murder for killing his wife, Janet, whose body has never been found.
"It looked on the outside like he had the perfect life," prosecutor Tom Thurman said after the verdict. "He had it all."
March was an attorney in the Nashville law firm of his wife's father, and the couple lived in a beautiful home in an upscale Nashville neighborhood with their two children, Samson and Tzipora.
But prosecutors argued during the two-week trial that, when Janet March threatened to divorce her husband and take full custody of the children, March killed her and disposed of the body.
The six-man, six-woman panel also convicted the ex-lawyer of abuse of a corpse and evidence tampering stemming from the disappearance of a hard drive from the March family's home computer.
March, who blinked several times but otherwise did not visibly react to the verdict, faces up to 63 years on all charges, including a previous conviction, when he is sentenced Sept. 6.
For 10 years, March has denied his involvement in the disappearance of his wife, who was 33 at the time.
The night of Aug. 15, 1996, March called his in-laws and told them his wife walked out on him after an argument, leaving behind a list of errands entitled "Janet's 12-day vacation."
But several friends and relatives testified in March's trial that Janet March was a loving mother who would never abandon her young children, who were 2 and 5 at the time.
The jury also heard from a jailhouse informant who testified that March admitted beating his wife with a wrench after she told him she was going to "take everything" in a divorce.
March's father, Col. Arthur March, testified in a videotaped deposition that he helped his son transport Janet March's remains to Kentucky, where he buried them in a brush pile.
The panel also heard several hours of audiotaped conversations between the defendant and jailhouse informant Nathaniel Farris as they plotted the murders of his in-laws, Carolyn and Larry Levine.
"I think any juror who listened to those tapes could have heard guilt from them," Thurman said Thursday.
Defense lawyers agreed that jurors relied heavily on those tapes and on the father's testimony in their decision.
"They were a heavy burden to carry," said one of March's defense lawyers, William Massey.
March was convicted in June 2006 on the conspiracy charges, after being extradited from Mexico, where he had been living with his kids since 1999.
Janet March's parents hugged prosecutors following the verdict before Larry Levine read a prepared statement.
In addition to thanking prosecutors, investigators and police, Levine thanked "the national community who gave support to us for 10 long years in our pursuit of justice for our daughter and our grandchildren."
He ended his brief statement without referring to his former son-in-law.
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