'This is my life': Self-described sovereign citizen, charged with murder, testifies

Emotional, conflicted, agitated and confused are some of the ways to describe Neely Rayne Pesognellie Petrie Blanchard's time on the witness stand Thursday during her murder trial.

The 37-year-old woman testified about numerous topics during her more than three hours on the stand.

Repeatedly told by Circuit Judge Lisa Herndon and Assistant State Attorneys Amy Berndt and Toby Hunt to only talk about the facts relevant to her case, Blanchard, who is representing herself, gave a glimpse as to why she shot Christopher Hallett more than a half dozen times, killing him.

She said while working on her documents in the hopes of regaining custody of her children, she noticed what she thought was a website that showed children being trafficking. Blanchard said she asked Hallett what it was, and he reportedly said, "You can't have good without evil."

Blanchard said she heard a voice telling her she was there to kill Hallett. She said she picked up the gun, which was nearby, and shot him.

"I can't believe you shot me," Blanchard recalled Hallett saying.

Blanchard insists she shot Hallett, whom she referred to as a "father figure," five times. A doctor from the Medical Examiner's Office had testified Hallett was shot seven times.

Hallett's shooting

A self-described sovereign citizen from Pensacola, Blanchard is charged with first-degree murder with a firearm in the fatal shooting in November 2020. Hallett died at his Marion Oaks home.

Two people, a woman and a teenage girl in the residence at the time of the shooting, were not harmed.

Authorities said Blanchard drove to Georgia after the shooting. Sheriff's detectives tracked Blanchard through her phone and altered law enforcement officials in Georgia, where she was arrested. Transferred to Marion County, Blanchard has been incarcerated in the county jail since 2020.

Detectives suspect the motive for the shooting was anger. Hallett was unable to get Blanchard's children returned to her after state officials removed them from her care. Hallett had formed a company, E-Clause, that sought to reunite parents with children who had been taken away by the state. Hallett created the company because his own children were taken by state officials.

Working with Hallett from 2017 to 2020, Blanchard felt she was being betrayed by Hallett. She was staying at his residence when he was killed, according to court testimony.

Hearing noises

Roughly a day before the shooting, Blanchard testified, she heard weird noises while at Hallett's residence. She said she was using Hallett's computer, doing research, and heard a "frequency sound." Its origins, she said, was unknown, but it "hurt my brain."

The next noise was what she called "a solar sound." She talked about having delusional thoughts. At one point, Hallett heard the noise and decided to investigate.

For a time, Blanchard said, she thought several people were trying to kill her. At first, it was the pizza man. Then, when she went to the gas station, she saw a man and felt he was trying to kill her.

After the shooting, Blanchard said, she drove on Interstate 75 and called her husband and told him she had shot Hallett. The two met and traveled to Georgia, where she was taken into custody.

More testimony from Blanchard

Addressing jurors, Blanchard thanked them for allowing her to tell them her side of the story. Wiping tears from her face, Blanchard told them it wasn't an easy process and she had lost her children at various intervals.

She talked about how her and Hallett's lives were connected through a common goal: helping people like her getting their children back. She strongly believed, since losing her first child to state officials, that she has been targeted by law enforcement officials.

Blanchard's defense: When she shot Hallett, she was temporarily insane. She told jurors, "this is my life."

Cross-examined by Assistant State Attorney Toby Hunt, Blanchard agreed with several statements made by the prosecutor. First, Hallett is dead. Second, she shot him and she was angry at the time. Third, she shot him because of what she saw on the computer. Fourth, she prayed and thought about her action before shooting Hallett. Fifth, she called and told her mother and husband about shooting Hallett. And sixth, she fled to Georgia after the shooting.

She admitted to falsely accusing the father of her eldest child of inappropriate behavior, and had been charged with kidnapping and custodial interference in relation to her other two children.

From her handbag, there was a handwritten note declaring herself a sovereign citizen.

At the conclusion of her testimony, Blanchard told the court that prosecutors have concealed documents from the defense.

Blanchard's defense

With Hunt and Berndt resting their case after calling three witnesses, it was Blanchard's turn to show her case to the jury.

Blanchard seemed unsure about her witnesses or what to do. For example, when the state rests, it's standard procedure for the defense to request a judgment of acquittal and state a reason or reasons. Blanchard didn't ask the judge for such a judgment. The judge told her if she would've asked, it would have been denied.

Blanchard, who had six photographs of her three smiling children displayed at the defense table, scrambled for witnesses. She asked for Kathy Watson, who wasn't present in the courtroom. Blanchard said she hasn't had a chance to call Watson.

Berndt and Hunt found a phone number for Watson and handed it to one of Blanchard's friend. The friend called and texted Watson and was told she was on her way from Kentucky.

In the meantime, the judge told Blanchard the trial needs to continue if she plans on calling other witnesses. Blanchard called Marion County Sheriff's Detective John Lightle, who had testified earlier for the prosecution.

Blanchard's mother on the witness stand

Similar to other cross-examinations by Blanchard, questions posed to Lighlte were dismissed by the judge because they had no connection to her case.

She tried to ask Lightle if he was ever employed by the federal government, if he knew what's FISA or Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court was, and if he knew about the supremacy clause of the constitution.

Blanchard next called her mother, Susan Blanchard, to the witness stand. Blanchard's questioning of her mother was personal, and most of the queries were not allowed by the judge.

In her cross-examination, Berndt asked Blanchard's mother about her daughter calling her the night Hallett was shot. The woman said her daughter was hysterical and wanted to record her. Not having a recording device, the woman said, she hung up the phone. She said the reason she hung up the phone was because her daughter could not give her an address and she didn't know her location.

It was revealed the two had not spoken to each other for several months because Blanchard's mother had custody over her dauhter's children and Blanchard had kidnapped them.

Woman testifying for the defense

Watson arrived and was sworn in for her testimony.

On the stand, Watson was portrayed as a "mother figure" to Blanchard. Watson said, "I can relate to your pain."

Watson said she has been unable to follow Blanchard's ongoing case because so much has been written and mentioned about the incident. She said she's an ordained minister and recorded their telephone conversation when Blanchard called her after the shooting.

Watson said Blanchard appeared off when they talked. Normally, she said, Blanchard was bubbly.

Cross-examined by Berndt, Watson said she has been an ordained minister off and on since 2016. She said she released the recording between her and Blanchard to the U.S. Marshals. She said Blanchard asked her to record their conversation.

Suicide watch at the county jail

Before court began, Blanchard told the judge she was placed on suicide watch at the jail Wednesday night. She doesn't believe she's a threat and believes the lawyers and medical experts who testified at her competency hearing, held Wednesday afternoon, were conspiring against her.

She said she's not being treated fairly or receiving a fair trial, and wanted a lawyer present for her defense. Blanchard complained about not having access to call or message one of her witnesses.

Hunt told the court that the state's expert, Dr. Jason Demery, told them Blanchard talked about experiencing suicidal thoughts and therefore they had an obligation to let the court and jail staffers know for her protection.

The prosecutor told the court that, according to jail staffers, Blanchard had video visitation and spoke with family members. Jail officials also said Blanchard wasn't prevented from having communications with anyone.

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The judge ruled Blanchard was trying to make excuses to delay the trial and told her she can make an appeal once the trial is concluded.

The 13-member jury is expected to deliberate on Friday.

Contact Austin L. Miller at austin.miller@starbanner.com

This article originally appeared on Ocala Star-Banner: Acting as her own lawyer, self-described sovereign citizen takes stand