Netflix's I Am a Killer season 2, episode 2 recap: Overkill

Let’s look at episode 202 of Netflix and Crime+Investigation UK’s I Am a Killer. David Barnett’s troubled life led him down the path of murder.

The last episode of I Am a Killer examined the case of Lindsay Haugen, a killer forgiven by the victim’s parents. This episode looks at David Barnett, whose troubled upbringing led him to murder his adoptive grandparents. The episode mostly takes place in Missouri, alternating between St. Louis and the Potosi Correctional Center (where Barnett resides).

Barnett says that, because his mother didn’t want him, he was initially raised by a man named Robert Biggerstaff — an alcoholic who was in and out of jail. He says that, at various points, he was molested and beaten, and sometimes got food out of vending machines with hangers. Before the age of 6, the Department of Family Services took control. However, even then his adoptive dad hid him in the trunk of his car until being arrested again.

David Barnett seemed to catch a break when he was adopted by the Reames family at age 6. However, in a fateful move, Mrs. Rita Reames moved to study abroad, resulting in David going back into the foster care system. At age 8, David was adopted by John Barnett. David says John actually was a good parental figure at first.

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However, he claims that John did hit and molest him after a few months, then adopted two more boys, who were also allegedly molested. One of David’s breaks was that John’s parents, Clifford and Leona, lived nearby, and they were apparently kinder to him. However, David says that even Clifford slapped him sometimes. Also, at age, David moved out after an argument. David says that Leona would have defended John and Clifford from abuse allegations.

The murders

The show wouldn’t be called I Am a Killer without at least one murder. In this case, David Barnett maintains that he blacked out when he killed Clifford and Leona, describing it as a manic rage. While some will always be skeptical of such claims, it is nevertheless a true phenomenon that, in some cases, people can become so enraged that they lose control, sometimes not even remembering what they did. In any case, David confessed to the police and was put on trial in 1997. Jury Foreman Andrew Dazey notes that 5 knives were actually used, which may have helped inspire the death sentence being imposed. Barnett himself admits it was overkill.

I Am a Killer then catches up with Rita Reames in Savannah, Georgia. David sends her cards sometimes, and she says he wasn’t violent when she knew him. It’s also suggested that David’s Attorney overlooked his abusive childhood, not even bothering to contact witnesses on David’s list. While this might not have spared him a prison sentence, it might have resulted in a more lenient approach.

Jason Kingdon, David’s friend, notes that John Barnett’s foster kids always locked their rooms from John, even urinating out the window rather than using the house’s restroom. He also claims that he and David found a child porn picture of John with a boy, then took it to Webster Groves Police Department. It’s claimed that the police refused to help. In any case, I Am a Killer tells us John Barnett died in 2017.

Was John Barnett guilty?

Not everyone thinks John Barnett was guilty. Fred Domke, John’s friend, says John was a respected high school computer teacher and school bus driver, and he categorically denies the allegations. David’s former girlfriend (and father to David’s child), Secil Schodroski, says she never saw any molestation. However, she contradicts that by saying she was touched by him when she was 14. She also says that John was jealous that she had David’s child. On top of that, she regrets having pushed David away for not being the most attentive father, noting how everyone else either pushed him away or abused him.

Back in Kansas City

Defense Lawyer Elizabeth Carlyle shows us some uncovered abuse records, including a police report stating the authorities “found reason to suspect sexual and other physical abuse.” The sentencing was successfully appealed as an unpremeditated murder, removing David from death row after 22 years. David tells I Am a Killer that, on the day they were murdered, he told his grandparents about John and they didn’t believe him. This may be a catalyst for his rage.

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David indicates that, if released, he would be a productive member of society. He even says that he doesn’t hate John, saying that John gave in to his own desires and couldn’t overcome them. He adds that John tried to be a dad but had “monsters.” David’s story is indeed a tragic on from any point of view, and can certainly be seen from many perspectives.

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