Rex Barnett

{{Short description|American politician}} {{Use mdy dates|date=November 2022}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Rex Barnett | image = | state_house = Missouri | district = 4th | term_start = 1995 | term_end = 2003 | predecessor = Sam Graves<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=446643 |title=MO State House 004 Race - Nov 08, 1994 |publisher=Our Campaigns |date= |accessdate=May 9, 2020}}</ref> | successor = Brad Lager | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1938|11|22}} | birth_place = Laredo, Missouri | death_date = | death_place = | party = Republican | spouse = | children = | alma_mater = Trenton Junior College<br />Central Missouri State University | profession = | website = }}

'''Rex Barnett''' (born October 22, 1938)<ref>[http://votesmart.org/candidate/biography/9304/rex-barnett Rex Barnett's biography] at Project Vote Smart; retrieved October 15, 2013</ref> is an American politician and former member of the Missouri State Highway Patrol.<ref>[http://www.house.mo.gov/billtracking/spec01/member01/bio004.htm REP. REX BARNETT - 91st General Assembly], at the Missouri House of Representatives; published 2002; retrieved October 15, 2013</ref>

A Republican, he represented District 4 (Atchison, Nodaway and Worth Counties) in the Missouri House of Representatives for four terms (from 1995 to 2003). During this time, he sat on committees for criminal law, public safety and law enforcement, and appropriations for corrections and public safety.<ref>[http://www.house.mo.gov/billtracking/spec01/member01/mem004.htm Representative Rex Barnett -- District 4 -- Republican] at the Missouri House of Representatives; published 2002; retrieved October 15, 2013</ref>

==Allegations of obstruction of justice== In 2012, Barnett's grandson, Matthew Barnett, was arrested for the rape of the then fourteen-year-old Daisy Coleman and for having left her unconscious on her family's front porch in severe conditions in Maryville, Missouri. Barnett's grandson confessed, but prosecutors declined to pursue charges, and allegations were subsequently made that Barnett had interfered with the case.<ref>[http://kcur.org/post/why-was-maryville-rape-case-dropped Why Was The Maryville Rape Case Dropped?], by Peggy Lowe and Monica Sandreczki; at KCUR-FM/NPR; published July 11, 2013; retrieved October 15, 2013</ref>

Barnett subsequently denied any involvement in the case, stating that he "knew that any contact whatsoever by me with the sheriff’s department or prosecuting attorney — or any witness, as far as that goes — would have been bad for me and bad for the case."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.kansascity.com/2013/10/12/4549775/nightmare-in-maryville-teens-sexual.html#storylink=cpy |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131229152232/https://www.kansascity.com/2013/10/12/4549775/nightmare-in-maryville-teens-sexual.html |title=Nightmare in Maryville: Teens' sexual encounter ignites a firestorm against family |archive-date=December 29, 2013 |author=Dugan Arnett |date=October 12, 2013 |work=Kansas City Star |accessdate=November 20, 2022}}</ref> Barnett's grandson pleaded guilty to misdemeanor second-degree endangerment of the welfare of a child for leaving Coleman outside her house, and was sentenced by Missouri Circuit Judge Glen Dietrich to four months in jail that were suspended in favor of two years probation.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Alleged Rapist of Daisy Coleman Gets 2 Years Probation|url=https://jezebel.com/alleged-rapist-of-daisy-coleman-gets-2-years-probation-1498010854|access-date=December 16, 2020|website=Jezebel|language=en-us}}</ref>

Daisy Coleman died by suicide on August 4, 2020.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/06/us/daisy-coleman-suicide-trnd/index.html|title = Daisy Coleman, student featured in Netflix documentary on sexual assault, dies by suicide|website = CNN| date=August 6, 2020 }}</ref> Daisy's mother, Melinda Coleman, died by suicide on December 6, barely four months later.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Melinda Coleman, Mother of Audrie and Daisy's Daisy Coleman, Has Died By Suicide 4 Months After Her Daughter|url=https://jezebel.com/melinda-coleman-mother-of-audrie-and-daisys-daisy-cole-1845824716|access-date=December 16, 2020|website=Jezebel|language=en-us}}</ref>

== See also == * ''Audrie & Daisy''

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== * [http://www.house.mo.gov/content.aspx?info=/bills01/spon01/spn004.htm Legislation sponsored or co-sponsored by Rex Barnett in 2001] * [http://www.house.mo.gov/billtracking/spec01/member01/bio004.htm Historic page] at the Missouri House of Representatives * {{CongLinks | congbio= | votesmart=9304 | fec= | congress= }}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barnett, Rex}} Category:1938 births Category:Living people Category:Republican Party members of the Missouri House of Representatives Category:People from Grundy County, Missouri Category:University of Central Missouri alumni Category:People from Maryville, Missouri Category:20th-century members of the Missouri General Assembly Category:21st-century members of the Missouri General Assembly