St. Louis County Man Sentenced to 25 Years in Prison for Murdering Acquaintance

ST. LOUIS - U.S. District Judge Matthew T. Schelp on Wednesday sentenced a man to 25 years in prison for fatally shooting an acquaintance before stealing his jewelry and drugs.

Terry W. Winebarger, 52, fatally shot the victim in the head with the victim's own 10mm Glock handgun on Feb. 18, 2023, in a home in Hanley Hills, Missouri. Winebarger then stole the gun, jewelry and some methamphetamine that the victim had purchased earlier.

After the murder, Winebarger purchased new clothes, disinfectant wipes and bleach at a store and returned to his home in an attempt to destroy evidence of his crime.

Winebarger pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis in July to possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine, discharge of a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime resulting in death and being a felon in possession of a firearm.

The Drug Enforcement Administration, the St. Louis County Police Department, the Major Case Squad and the North County Police Cooperative investigated the case, with assistance from the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department and the St. Charles County Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lisa Epplin prosecuted the case.