Andrew Barnett, a 44-year-old St. Louis resident, entered a guilty plea to charges of second-degree murder and armed criminal action for the 2014 killing of 34-year-old Kristopher Schmeiderer, as events transpired outside of a local South St. Louis City bar. The altercation that resulted in Schmeiderer's death, who was left quadriplegic and reliant on a ventilator before passing away in late 2015, began with an argument between the two men, both of whom were regulars at the establishment, reported in a release by the St. Louis Circuit Attorney's Office.
As the argument escalated, Barnett and Schmeiderer took it outside, continues the report, where Barnett then proceeded to stab Schmeiderer in the neck and stomach, following which he fled in his car, the authorities at the time of his arrest noted a laceration on his thumb and later came across blood-stained clothing in a nearby storm sewer, DNA testing matched Barnett’s profile, an earlier conviction had been overturned on appeal over a lack of self-defense instruction but a subsequent indictment by a grand jury solidified the recently adjudicated charges. Barnett has a history of legal issues, including convictions for third-degree assault and driving under the influence.
Barnett is scheduled for sentencing on Friday, as per the schedule released by the courts. "Today’s guilty plea holds Andrew Barnett accountable for the senseless violence that led to the tragic death of Kristopher Schmeiderer," St. Louis Circuit Attorney Gabe Gore expressed this in a statement, according to the St. Louis Circuit Attorney's Office. The case was overseen by Head of Homicide Tanja Engelhardt and Assistant Circuit Attorney Allan Kaiser.
