Rex Barnett
Rex Barnett (born October 22, 1938) is an American politician and former member of the Missouri State Highway Patrol. A Republican, he represented District 4 (Atchison, Nodaway and Worth Counties) in the Missouri House of Representatives for four terms (from 1994 to 2002). During this time, he sat on committees for criminal law, public safety and law enforcement, and appropriations for corrections and public safety. Controversy with Matthew Barnett. 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, and confessed; however, prosecutors declined to pursue charges, and allegations were subsequently made that Barnett had interfered with the case. Barnett subsequently denied any involvement in the case, stating that he "knew that any contact whatsoever by [Barnett] with the sheriff’s department or prosecuting attorney — or any witness, as far as that goes — would have been bad for [Barnett] and bad for the case." Barnett pleaded guilty to misdemeanor second-degree endangerment of the welfare of a child for leaving her 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. Daisy Coleman committed suicide on August 4, 2020. Daisy's mother, Melinda Coleman, died by suicide on December 6th, barely four months later.