Decatur’s Monday morning city council meeting was quick, but there was a heated exchange between the widow of Steve Perkins and Decatur Mayor Tab Bowling. This comes after a judge approved a motion to push back the murder trial of the former officer charged in Perkins' death.
Catrela Perkins called out Decatur's mayor, saying he did not tell the full story about his visit following her husband's death in September. She says he lied in a recent interview. Something Nick Perkins agrees with.
At Monday morning’s council meeting, Catrela Perkins said to Mayor Bowling, “In your interview, you said that you came to visit me. That wasn’t a visit. A visit is when you go to someone’s house and spend time with them or possibly offer prayer, check on them, see how they’re doing. You did none of that. You never sat down when you came to my parent's house. You stood in the living room, and you looked at me and told me that the only reason you came was that someone in the community—I'm not going to say their name—advised you because that was the right thing to do.â€
Bowling responded to Catrela, saying he "wasn’t invited to sit down.â€
Nick Perkins, brother of Steve, says he supports his sister-in-law, saying, “I will stand behind my sister-in-law. There were some untruths told by the mayor as far as the leadership. From my understanding, that's what he was trying to speak on. But there were some."
As for a delay in the trial for Bailey Marquette, Nick says their family fully expected this to happen and previously talked to District Attorney Scott Anderson about the possibility.
Nick Perkins said, “He’s got a big caseload. He’s very meticulous. He wants to make sure everything goes right. We, as a family, want him to do the same thing. He doesn’t want this to be messed up at all."
Still, Nick says celebrating their first father's day without Steve was hard, adding, “Father's Day has always been rather tough on us. We lost our father about 10 years ago. So for Steve not to be here, My heart breaks for his girls and his wife. Nobody wants to go through that type of trauma.â€
Court records show DA Anderson asked to push back the trial because of two high-profile murder cases set to go to trial in August and September. The next time attorneys for Morgan County and Marquette's attorneys will meet is Sept. 24.
