37-year-old Neely Raye Pesognellie Petrie-Blanchard (Fifth Judicial District Attorney's Office)
After a trial, 37-year-old Neely Raye Pesognellie Petrie-Blanchard was found guilty of first-degree murder with a firearm.
Pesognellie Petrie-Blanchard represented herself in her murder trial of 50-year-old Christopher Hallett; The jury deliberated for approximately 30 minutes on Friday, April 19, 2024, before finding the woman guilty.
Petrie-Blanchard was previously indicted by a grand jury in 2021 for first-degree premeditated murder with a firearm.
Petrie-Blanchard was originally arrested on November 16, 2020 in Lowndes County, Georgia after a Lowndes County Sheriff's Office deputy noticed a vehicle matching the description of the BOLO entered into the National Information Center by the Marion County Sheriff's Office (MCSO).
Read: Prosecutor calls Trump New York case an 'election conspiracy' in opening statement
MCSO officers had previously obtained an arrest warrant for Petrie-Blanchard, who was considered a suspect in the murder of Christopher Hallett just a day earlier.
MCSO officers had responded to a home on SW 34th Court Road in Ocala for a shooting. Upon arrival, officers discovered the victim, Christopher Hallett, dead from multiple apparent gunshot wounds on the kitchen floor.
Eyewitnesses at the scene identified the shooter as Petrie-Blanchard. The witnesses told investigators they heard what they thought were fireworks.
After further examination, they left their room into the living room where they observed the victim near the kitchen with a pained expression on his face while Petrie-Blanchard stood behind him holding a black pistol.
The witnesses told officers that Petrie-Blanchard turned and pointed the gun at them and tried to shoot, but the gun jammed, giving them the opportunity to flee to safety.
Read: CNN panel finds it 'quite remarkable' that a juror can go to a dentist appointment while Trump is banned from major events
Both witnesses revealed that Petrie-Blanchard said something to the effect of, “You're hurting my children,” before firing more shots.
It was later learned that Petrie-Blanchard had enlisted the help of Christopher Hallett in a final attempt to regain custody of Petrie-Blanchard's children. Both Petrie-Blanchard and the victim were found to be associated with and engaged in activities consistent with the practices of the Sovereign Citizen movement and the group QAnon.
Based on the totality of the circumstances from the eyewitness accounts and the physical evidence collected at the crime scene, an arrest warrant was issued for Petrie-Blanchard.
Following her trial, Petrie-Blanchard was sentenced to life in prison by the Honorable Judge Herndon, taken into custody and remanded to the Marion County Jail awaiting transport to the Florida Department of Corrections.
“I want to thank the jury for their diligence throughout the trial,” said Bill Gladson, prosecutor for the Fifth Judicial Circuit. “Appointment as a jury is one of the highest forms of community service. I also want to thank the prosecutors who worked tirelessly to achieve justice on behalf of the victim and on behalf of the people of the great state of Florida.”
Assistant District Attorneys Amy Berndt and Toby Hunt successfully prosecuted the case.
Support the Tampa Free Press by making a small donation here.
Android users can click here to download the Tampa Free Press app and never miss a story. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter. Sign up for our free newsletter.
Comments are closed.