Former Rare Staff
A 30-year-old Texas man, who could be seen smiling ear to ear in his mugshot, may not be smiling now that he’s facing down a murder trial for allegedly beating and stomping to death a man with whom he had been sharing alcoholic beverages moments before.
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Ross Barrow was arrested Sunday night after a witness said he stomped 57-year-old Allen Niedermann to death, this after a discussion of military branches they served in resulted in the threat of murder — and the reality of it, police say.
According to KVUE, Barrow, Niedermann and a third unidentified man were drinking outside when the military branch conversation went to a stunningly dark place. The third man says he heard Barrow threaten Niedermann’s life and watched him instigate the attack.
The Austin American-Statesman went into more detail about Barrow’s words.
“I’m going to kill this f****r,” Barrow reportedly said before allegedly crossing the line forever. Niedermann was then kicked and stomped to death.
Police officers responding to an unrelated call in the area about a suspicious vehicle say they “happened to look in another direction [at the time] and saw the suspect, Ross Barrow, fighting with the [victim].”
The next thing they saw, police said, was Barrow throwing Niedermann’s body around by his shirt, allowing him to land on his face, and then brutally killing him by stomping on his head and face.
The victim was pronounced dead at the scene. An autopsy confirmed that blunt force trauma was the cause of death.
It’s not clear how the discussion got this out of hand or why Barrow has a wide grin on his face in his mugshot, considering the situation.
He has been charged with first-degree murder.
