Pauley Perrette's Alleged Attacker Is Innocent, His Family Claims
Nov. 19 2015, Published 9:53 a.m. ET
The family of Pauley Perrette's alleged attacker is speaking out exclusively to RadarOnline.com to insist that the homeless man is innocent.
Perrette, 46, Tweeted about the alleged attack that took place outside her Hollywood home last Thursday night. A suspect, David Merck, was arrested just one hour after the he didn't do anything.
"There's a lot of stuff that doesn't add up in this case," Melissa told Radar.
Merck, 36, revealed that David, 45, has been missing from his Six Mile, South Carolina, hometown since 1997. When the news about her cousin broke, it was the first the family has heard of his whereabouts since he disappeared. But she said she is still confident that he is the kind and generous person she once knew.
"This is not the type of person that he is," she said. "He's a gentle giant."
"I know in my heart that he's innocent," she continued. "He would give the shirt off his back to someone who needed it."
Melissa and her cousin grew up together, and she said she is especially grateful that he helped take care of her and her baby when she was just 14.
Now, she lives in Decatur, Georgia and is currently trying to get David a phone account.
"I would give anything just to sit down and talk to him," she tearfully said. "Just to tell him that he's loved and cared for."
Merck is due back in court on December 2.
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