ST LOUIS, MISSOURI: A man convicted of murdering another man a few years ago has been cleared of all charges by a court due to an "error" involving the witness statements. Darin Schmidt allegedly killed David Bewig Jr in December 2016 and in August 2019, he was convicted of first-degree murder, a class A felony, and armed criminal action, an unclassified felony by jurors in the St. Louis Circuit Court.
According to Leader Publications, Bewig Jr’s father, Bewig Sr said, “I’m happy they got the person and we got a little … I wouldn’t call it closure. It’s just nice to know the person was held accountable. I’m just happy he’s convicted. He can’t hurt anybody else.”
An appeals court stated that the, “…defendant’s extrajudicial statements that he shot and killed the victim were admissible because they were corroborated by independent proof…”. St Louis Circuit Attorney Kimberly M Gardner said, “Witness cooperation was an essential factor in holding Darin Schmidt accountable for this horrible crime.”
Why was Darin Schmidt's murder conviction thrown out?
As per reports, Schmidt was convicted of the murder after three people testified that the suspect had allegedly confessed to them that he was behind the murder. However, the prosecutor’s question, “Did you believe he was telling you the truth?” brought an unexpected twist in the case and the court rejected Schmidt's conviction.
The appeals court reportedly ruled, “It was, however, plain error to allow the state’s witnesses, who heard the defendant make those statements, to testify that they believed the statements were true.”
‘I don’t think they understand that he’s got an appeal and trial date’
Bewig Jr's heartbroken father has now supported the witnesses’ account as he stated, “Sure, they felt it was the truth. …and I don’t think that had no bearing on the, you know, case at all with the jurors.” However, he mentioned that they were not coming forward.
Bewig Sr said, “Someone was reached and said something or another that we’re not going to deal with this and more or less blew it off. I don’t think they understand that he’s got an appeal and trial date. If these witnesses don’t show up and stand up to what they’ve already done, then he’s going to be out and free,” adding, “Those witnesses need to come, and they need to do the right thing.”
