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Man wrongly accused of killing Jazmine Barnes found dead

A man who was wrongly accused of murdering 7-year-old Jazmine Barnes last year was found dead in a Texas jail last week in an apparent suicide, according to a report.

Robert Paul Cantrell, 49, was found by guards hanging in his Montgomery County Jail cell about 4:20 a.m. on July 23. He was declared dead on scene, authorities said.

Cantrell, who is white, has been jailed since his robbery arrest on Dec. 30, 2018 — the same day Barnes, who is black, was killed in a drive-by shooting as her family headed to a Houston Walmart.

Shortly after the tragic shooting, the Harris County Sheriff’s Office released a composite sketch based off witness accounts of the suspect in Barnes’ murder — depicting a white man with blue eyes.

The case immediately drew the attention of online activist Shaun King, who on Jan. 1 tweeted “URGENT. ALL HANDS ON DECK. A 40 y/o white man w/ a beard in a red pickup truck pulled up on 7 y/o Jazmine Barnes and her family near a Houston @Walmartand shot and killed her and injured others.”

King, who offered a $25,000 reward to catch the Barnes’ killer, later blasted out to his 1.1 million Twitter followers Cantrell’s mugshot, which looks similar to the composite sketch, according to Houston’s ABC 13. 

In the since-deleted tweet, King wrote, “We’ve had 20 people call or email us and say he is a racist, violent (expletive) and always has been. Just tell me everything you know,” the report said.

But the case turned out to be a bogus hate crime, as the investigation led to the arrests of two black men, Eric Black Jr. and Larry D. Woodruffe, who police believe shot into Barnes’ car in a case of mistaken identity.

The two men were charged with capital murder.

Despite the arrest, Cantrell’s family continued to receive death threats as his mug shot was distributed widely across social media.

In one Facebook message to Cantrell’s niece, Hailey, an online commenter wrote, “Someone is going to rape, torture and murder the women and children in your family,” according to ABC 13.


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The post Man wrongly accused of killing Jazmine Barnes found dead appeared first on Fox USA Live.



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