Adnan Husidic Acquitted Of Murder In 2016 Shooting

ST. LOUIS, MO — A 28-year-old St. Louis man, Adnan Husidic, was acquitted of first-degree murder Thursday for the shooting death of Jose Garcia Jr., 26, his ex-girlfriend's new boyfriend, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

Prosecutors argued that Husidic had come to his ex-girlfriend's apartment to kill Garcia, and shot him twice after forcing his way through the door. But, Husidic testified that he had come over to return some laundry, didn't know Garcia was there, and that the shooting was in self-defense. His lawyers presented text messages between the three in which Garcia claimed to have been in a shootout with Chicago police and made death threats against Husidic. Ashley Triplett — the woman in the middle of the love triangle — testified that Husidic had pushed his way into the apartment, but that Garcia had thrown the first punch.

Defense lawyers repeatedly attacked Triplett on the stand, blaming her for inciting the confrontation.

Husidic is originally from Bosnia and has been a U.S. citizen for almost a decade. He has a permit to carry a concealed handgun and no criminal history in the state, while Garcia had a list of minor thefts, drug possession, and vandalism. Garcia moved to St. Louis from Chicago in the 1990s and got to meet Pope John Paul II after winning a raffle at age 9, the Post-Dispatch said.

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