Judge Delays Bond Hearing

Accused of murdering Stephen Perret, Michael Crocker, appeared in court for his bond hearing Thursday morning.  It took investigators four years and four months to get to this point..and the judge decided he needed more time to make a decision on bond.

Crocker is accused of cutting out his own tongue so investigators wouldn't suspect him in the August 2007 Citronelle murder of his close friend and neighbor.  A week before the tongue slashing, deputies say Crocker shot Stephen Perret after Perret discovered Crocker had been stealing from a company they owned.

Going to court was very emotional for Perret's widow, Nikki Perret who is left to raise their three children. "They're getting through it..questions...and just trying to understand everything", said Perret.

"I was given this little rock that looks like an angel...I carry it everyday..since the day he passed..I think of him everyday", said Stephen Perret Senior. He traveled to Mobile from Louisiana for the bond hearing.  "Well, my son was shot in the back of the head twice with buckshot, 12 gauge buckshot. So does that tell you anything? That's what I want. If they put him on a chair It woudn't be enough for me", said Stephen Perret.

A relative of Crocker's says he is innocent until proven guilty. Linda Montgomery Barnett says she wants to know the truth and like the Perret family wants closure.  "We just want justice here, and we'll be the first ones to tell you. If they prove that Michael is guilty of this, then he needs to be punished. We are real people. We are a wonderful family just as they are. So, let's get on down and road and get it done", said Barnett.