Ah, the New York Post. Where would we be without you? This story isn't exactly "Headless Body in Topless Bar," but it's still quality tabloid fodder.
Here's the scoop: in December of 2007, Janet Redmond-Mercereau called 911 and reported that her husband, Staten Island Fire Marshall Douglas Mercereau, was dead. Two days later, the Post referred to her as "the elephant in the room" because of suspicions that she had murdered Douglas because of "humiliating fat jokes he made at her expense." On Saturday (3/22/08) she was charged with murder.
Now comes the defense. Her lawyer says that "her husband had been verbally abusive after she gained weight because of a thyroid condition." The prosecution says, "We believe [the abuse] not to be true."
I know it's just a quote and could be out of context. But let's say, just for a moment, that it was true. That her husband had called her "Fatty McFatso." That she was wearing a t-shirt from Guess and he said, "I don't know, 245? 260?" (That last line I swiped from a comedian whose name I can't remember.) If he did that, she can kill him?
Well, no. But Andrea Peyer has a column warning guys to "be careful" when they poke fun at the little woman for not being so little. Still, to me it seems like a pretty thin defense strategy. (Pun intended.)
It does seem that the accused is a tad, shall we say, unhinged. A The New York Times story says that she had an oak tree in their yard chopped down because Douglas' family compared him to it at the funeral. The Staten Island Advance quotes Janet as saying, "I feel like a model," to a photographer when he arrived at her home to get a photo. And The Post describes her as "winking" to her family at the arraignment.
For the record, Janet is listed at 5' 3" and 240 pounds. But I'm not saying a word about that. Just in case she's acquitted.
