Andrew Barnett, age 44, has been sentenced to 15 years in the Missouri Department of Corrections following his guilty plea to second-degree murder and armed criminal action. Barnett's conviction is connected to the fatal stabbing of 34-year-old Kristopher Schmeiderer outside a South St. Louis bar in 2014, an altercation that ultimately left Schmeiderer quadriplegic before leading to his death a year and a half later. This information comes according to a reported case by the St. Louis Circuit Attorney's Office.
The conflict, which occurred outside a bar located on the 6300 block of Alabama Avenue, began inside and quickly escalated after moving outdoors. Barnett managed to seriously injure Schmeiderer by stabbing him in the neck and stomach. Authorities apprehended Barnett soon after the incident, noting a laceration on his thumb and later discovering blood-stained clothing connected to him. "Kristopher Schmeiderer spent his final year and a half paralyzed and on a ventilator because of Andrew Barnett's actions," St. Louis Circuit Attorney Gabe Gore told the St. Louis Circuit Attorney's Office. "This wasn't just a bar fight—it was a violent act that robbed a man of his life and a family of their son, dad, brother, and friend."
After Schmeiderer succumbed to his injuries in November 2015, the case took a turn. Barnett, who has past convictions including third-degree assault and driving while under the influence, was re-indicted following an appeals court decision that overturned his original conviction due to trial error. He was then re-indicted in 2021 by a grand jury.
Prosecuted by Head of Homicide Tanja Engelhardt and Assistant Circuit Attorney Allan Kaiser, the case has come to a close nearly eleven years after the life-altering confrontation.
