Lynchburg man now charged with aggravated murder in connection to wife’s death

AMHERST CO., Va. (WDBJ) - In Amherst County, a man accused of killing his wife and dumping her body in a remote area appeared in court Tuesday morning.

Though Tuesday’s hearing was canceled due to a county-wide internet outage, WDBJ7 learned Michael Perry III is now facing an aggravated murder charge of a witness in connection with the death of his wife, Avriel Hooks.

It’s been almost one year since Hooks went missing in Lynchburg and was found dead days later in a wooded area of Amherst County.

“The hardest part is that so much time has passed and there’s so much I want to tell her,” said Hooks’ mother, Ashley Pittman. “I just want to call her up. And you can’t... there’s no calls anymore. There’s just what you feel.”

Pittman says she still has questions about what happened to her daughter. She’s hoping those questions are answered in the courtroom.

“There’s so much we still don’t know… there’s going to be this whole story that we’re going to know by the end,” added Pittman.

Perry was Hooks’ husband and the father of their then 5-month-old son. He was arrested in August in connection with her death.

Prosecutors intend to drop the second-degree murder charge in exchange for an aggravated murder charge. The new charge carries a longer sentence. Virginia law states that if found guilty, there is a mandatory minimum term of confinement for life. Prosecutors are still discussing whether to drop or retain a second charge of unlawful disposal of a dead body.

Pittman says this new charge brings her one step closer to justice.

“That’s what any mother would want for their child. You know, it’s a fear that you can’t get justice,” explained Pittman. “But this would mean justice.”

But as she waits for due process, Pittman says she will continue speaking up for her daughter.

“I just want to make her proud,” said Pittman. “I just want to fight for her and advocate for her and beg for justice for her.”

The arraignment hearing has been rescheduled for Friday morning.

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