An update/interview in regard to an earlier post about the tragic death of 16-year-old Persephone Berger
ALL CREDIT TO JOURNALIST SARAH BOYLES via Facebook .. sharing for visibility:
The truth is coming out. Persephone Ann Janette Berger, aged 16, was fatally struck by a St. Francois County Deputy in Missouri early Saturday morning. I interviewed her aunt to find solid answers.
Kimberly Berger, 54, is the aunt of Persephone. She is the sister of Persephone's father, Jarrad. She is sharing everything she knows to be fact.
Persephone left her home to go to a small get together nearby. She did sneak out, like many teenagers.
An eyewitness saw Persephone walking down Davis road just a few minutes before she was struck. There was no vehicle parked with their hazards on. No one found Persephone unconscious.
The individual was out in their yard because their dogs needed to be let out to use the restroom. They witnessed Persephone, who they personally knew, walking normally down the road. She was almost home...
The eyewitness saw a St. Francois County Sheriff's Deputy SUV traveling "about 65-70 miles an hour" with no lights or sirens.
The eyewitness was tending to their dogs when they heard, "a very loud thud, like someone hit a metal burning barrel as hard as they could with a baseball bat."
After the very loud thud, the witness heard the deputy screeching his tires. The deputy was traveling quickly so it took a few seconds to stop his SUV. The deputy then walked back to see what he had hit.
None of these facts, which are recorded, match the Sheriff's statement that Persephone was unconscious in the road and a passerby stopped to help her and call 911.
Kimberly stated, "Instead of radioing for help, he called his supervisor. They admitted to that in their press release. As far as we know,any incident with a truck being followed is unrelated to Persephone's passing. The deputy was just patrolling when he hit her."
The eyewitness saw the police officer stay on scene, so they didn't think they needed to call 911, as the police were already very aware of the accident and still on scene. More deputies arrived. The eyewitnessed hoped it wasn't Persephone that was hit, but sadly, that's exactly what happened.
Persephone's family is shocked that authorities did not speak to the eyewitness until today.
Kimberly said the most shocking part is that after her neice was fatally hit, deputies went to her brother Jarrad's residence and informed him that his "daughter was deceased after a hit and run".
Persephone's father and mother, Joy, wanted to know who hit their daughter and fled the scene.
Jarrad and his wife shared a post on Saturday announcing that Persephone was a victim of a hit and run.
Nearly 3 days would go by until a deputy with St. Francois Sheriff's Office would meet with Jarrad and tell him the truth.
Yesterday, October 5th, a deputy met with Jarrad and told him that it wasn't a hit and run, but a deputy actually took Persephone's life. Jarrad was understandably shocked. The eyewitness had already let the family know on Saturday that it was a deputy that took her life but the family thought if that was true the sheriff's office would be admitting to it.
Persephone's father demanded to know why they lied to him early Saturday morning and told him that they didn't know who the driver was and she was a victim of a hit and run. The deputy told him that they didn't know it was a deputy that hit her.
We know that isn't true. They DID know. Why didn't they tell the family the truth?
Kimberly stated, "After I saw proof that it was a deputy that took Persephone's life over the weekend I did post about it. Remember, this is before they ever admitted it was a deputy to our family. Within an hour of me posting that we knew a deputy took her life, the fire department was washing all debris and blood out of the roadway."
She continued, "We would have liked to have been told they were going to do that so we could take our own pictures. We didn't know that the Missouri State Patrol wasn't even asked to come do an investigation until Sunday, the very day they cleaned off the roadway before MHP could come investigate.
If they would have called them that night, which is protocol after a deputy hits a pedestrian, they would have been able to see the crime scene, they would have gotten there within an hour or two, at most. Now there are no tire marks left, glass placement, blood trajectory, nothing. It's convenient. We've had several wrecks over the years and they never washed the roadway the next day or before investigators could see the evidence. They've already shown all of us that they will lie to a grief-stricken family."
Kimberly Berger shared that if deputies would have been honest early Saturday morning and just admitted that one of their deputies took Persephone's life, and that they felt sorry about it, all would be forgiven. She's a strong supporter of officers. However, she said, I'm pissed. It feels like a slap in the face to be lied to only to then be forced to uncover the truth by an eyewitness who saw and heard it all happen. And then be forced to wait for the Sheriff's Office to be honest to us. It's so wrong."
At the time of writing this article, the deputy that hit Persephone is not on administrative leave. His name has not been released.
Kimberly wants the public to know that, "Persephone was a friend to the friendless. She was a friend to everyone and everyone loved her as much as she loved them. She did not deserve this."
Kimberly wants everyone to know her neice was not unconscious in the roadway, there was never a hit and run. There was never a helpful passerby with hazards on.
She wants the truth out there and I promised her I would post everything she asked me to post.
Our thoughts remain with Jarrad, Joy, Kimberly, and everyone who loved Persephone. We will update.