Janet Gail March, a 33-year-old children's book illustrator, was last seen at her home in a suburb of Nashville, Tennessee, on August 15, 1996. Her husband, Perry March, a local attorney, told police that his wife had packed her bags and left their home late that night after an argument. He claimed she was taking a 12-day vacation to an unknown destination and drove away. Janet was a devoted mother to the couple's two young children, and her family and friends grew concerned when she failed to contact them. Two weeks after she was last seen, at the insistence of her family, Janet was reported missing to the police on August 29, 1996. The investigation into her disappearance began, and about a week later, her car was found abandoned at a nearby apartment complex with some of her personal belongings, including her passport, still inside.
As investigators delved deeper into the case, suspicion quickly fell upon Perry March. He was uncooperative with law enforcement, refusing requests for interviews with himself and his children. When police sought to search the couple's home, Perry denied them access, forcing them to obtain a search warrant. A thorough search of the residence and surrounding areas, including woods and lakes, yielded no physical evidence of a crime or any sign of Janet. The police investigation was further complicated by the fact that the hard drive from the family's home computer, which Perry claimed contained a to-do list Janet had typed for him before she left, was missing. Despite the lack of direct evidence, authorities soon reclassified Janet's case from a missing person to a homicide, with her husband as the primary suspect. Shortly thereafter, Perry March moved with his two children to the Chicago area before eventually relocating to Mexico to live near his father, Arthur March.
Years passed, but the investigation into Janet's disappearance continued. In 2000, she was declared legally dead. The case gained national media attention, and cold case detectives eventually gathered enough evidence to present to a grand jury. In late 2004, a secret indictment was issued for Perry March on charges of murder. In August 2005, he was arrested in Mexico and extradited back to Tennessee to stand trial. During this time, it was discovered that Perry had conspired with his father and another inmate to have Janet's parents killed. A significant breakthrough in the case came when Perry's father, Arthur March, confessed to helping his son dispose of Janet's body. He told prosecutors that they had moved her remains to Kentucky but was unable to recall the exact location. Despite her body never being found, Perry March was convicted in 2006 of second-degree murder, abuse of a corpse, and tampering with evidence. He was also convicted of conspiring to murder his in-laws and for theft from his former law firm. He was sentenced to a total of 56 years in prison. The case against Perry March was built on a foundation of circumstantial evidence and the incriminating testimony of his own father, which ultimately led to his conviction in a case that had perplexed investigators for a decade.
Last Seen: Aug 15, 1996
