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Authors: Gary C. King
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14, and the new letter began: “I can barely type this. My hands are unsteady and my thoughts are whirling in a maelstrom of emotions. . . . I feel as if my heart stopped beating. . . . My world is far less grey [ sic ] today than it has ever been in my life. I feel like the lucky leprechaun who has seen the rainbow and knows what lays [ sic ] beyond. And like the leprechaun, I wonder if I’ll ever find it. . . . Say what you will, my dearest, you will forever be my truest longing.”
The thing that was different this time was that the letter writer was no longer anonymous. Perry March, thirty years old at the time, had been captured on video as he removed Leigh’s checkout card from the shelf that had been designated in the letter, and he was subsequently named by Business Risk International as the mysterious letter writer. Perry’s office was also on the building’s twenty-fifth floor, not far from Leigh’s work area.
Perry’s son, Sammy, Miller reflected as he pondered the information, was only eleven months old when Leigh had received the letters.
Miller learned that upper management, upon learning of the letter writer’s identity, called Perry into a closed-door meeting during which they gave him two options. He could resign, or they would fire him. If he chose to accept the offer to resign, the firm required that he would obtain counseling for his sexual issues. Perry agreed, and the firm sent Leigh on a paid vacation.
However, when Leigh returned from her vacation, she saw that Perry was still there, working at the firm. She ran into him everywhere, despite her best efforts to avoid him. She couldn’t even go to the bathroom or get coffee without seeing him. Finally she’d had enough and resigned from the firm, and in the process retained a lawyer to represent her in a possible sexual harassment suit. Perry March left Bass, Berry & Sims two weeks later.
Miller learned that Perry had reached an out-of-court settlement with Leigh Reames for $25,000 over the letter-writing incidents in order to avoid a full-blown sexual harassment lawsuit. However, he had been slow in paying off the settlement, and by the summer of 1996, he had only paid half of it. Apparently, Janet had learned of the settlement, possibly through her father, Miller learned, or possibly by somehow getting hold of a letter that Perry had written to Leigh on August 13, two days before Janet disappeared, in which he had explained that he was having difficulty coming up with the remainder of the money that he owed her. Miller theorized that if Janet had learned of the letter, it could have been the cause for their argument on the evening of August 15. Miller theorized that Janet may have confronted Perry about the letter, perhaps even threatening him with divorce and the bleak prospect of cutting him off financially, and that the argument had been enough to send Perry over the edge.
It was only a theory, however, one of many that Miller and his colleagues would explore. By this point in time, however, there was little doubt in anyone’s mind that Perry March, if not a murderer, was a scoundrel.
Chapter 8
On Wednesday, November 20, 1996, Perry March appeared in Davidson County Probate Court on behalf of himself and his children in which he provided a lengthy and often interesting deposition that, at times, revealed significant details about his character. Janet’s parents, along with their attorneys, were present. Perry’s brother, Ronald March, was present, along with Perry’s attorney, Lionel R. Barrett Jr. Jon E. Jones, attorney for the Levines, began the questioning after Perry had been sworn in. His deposition was, in part, a result of litigation that he had filed in a legal battle between himself and the Levines over Janet’s assets.
“Your brother, Ron March, is here today sitting beside you,” said Jones. “Is that correct?”
“That is correct,” Perry responded.
“In what capacity is he here?”
“He is my
The thing that was different this time was that the letter writer was no longer anonymous. Perry March, thirty years old at the time, had been captured on video as he removed Leigh’s checkout card from the shelf that had been designated in the letter, and he was subsequently named by Business Risk International as the mysterious letter writer. Perry’s office was also on the building’s twenty-fifth floor, not far from Leigh’s work area.
Perry’s son, Sammy, Miller reflected as he pondered the information, was only eleven months old when Leigh had received the letters.
Miller learned that upper management, upon learning of the letter writer’s identity, called Perry into a closed-door meeting during which they gave him two options. He could resign, or they would fire him. If he chose to accept the offer to resign, the firm required that he would obtain counseling for his sexual issues. Perry agreed, and the firm sent Leigh on a paid vacation.
However, when Leigh returned from her vacation, she saw that Perry was still there, working at the firm. She ran into him everywhere, despite her best efforts to avoid him. She couldn’t even go to the bathroom or get coffee without seeing him. Finally she’d had enough and resigned from the firm, and in the process retained a lawyer to represent her in a possible sexual harassment suit. Perry March left Bass, Berry & Sims two weeks later.
Miller learned that Perry had reached an out-of-court settlement with Leigh Reames for $25,000 over the letter-writing incidents in order to avoid a full-blown sexual harassment lawsuit. However, he had been slow in paying off the settlement, and by the summer of 1996, he had only paid half of it. Apparently, Janet had learned of the settlement, possibly through her father, Miller learned, or possibly by somehow getting hold of a letter that Perry had written to Leigh on August 13, two days before Janet disappeared, in which he had explained that he was having difficulty coming up with the remainder of the money that he owed her. Miller theorized that if Janet had learned of the letter, it could have been the cause for their argument on the evening of August 15. Miller theorized that Janet may have confronted Perry about the letter, perhaps even threatening him with divorce and the bleak prospect of cutting him off financially, and that the argument had been enough to send Perry over the edge.
It was only a theory, however, one of many that Miller and his colleagues would explore. By this point in time, however, there was little doubt in anyone’s mind that Perry March, if not a murderer, was a scoundrel.
Chapter 8
On Wednesday, November 20, 1996, Perry March appeared in Davidson County Probate Court on behalf of himself and his children in which he provided a lengthy and often interesting deposition that, at times, revealed significant details about his character. Janet’s parents, along with their attorneys, were present. Perry’s brother, Ronald March, was present, along with Perry’s attorney, Lionel R. Barrett Jr. Jon E. Jones, attorney for the Levines, began the questioning after Perry had been sworn in. His deposition was, in part, a result of litigation that he had filed in a legal battle between himself and the Levines over Janet’s assets.
“Your brother, Ron March, is here today sitting beside you,” said Jones. “Is that correct?”
“That is correct,” Perry responded.
“In what capacity is he here?”
“He is my
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