By Joel Currier
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
CLAYTON, Mo. — St. Louis County prosecutors said Friday that they would not seek a death sentence for Trenton Forster in the shooting death of St. Louis County Police Officer Blake Snyder.
A judge Friday set Forster’s trial date for Feb. 4, 2019.
St. Louis County Prosecutor Robert McCulloch said in a statement that his decision came after “a complete examination and reexamination of all evidence in this case.” He said he “cannot elaborate on the decision,” citing ethical rules for prosecutors. He said he had met with and discussed his decision with Snyder’s family.
Snyder’s widow, Elizabeth Snyder, said Friday that she was outraged by McCulloch’s decision.
“What message is being sent to society, to law enforcement and criminals by not seeking the death penalty? It’s saying police officers’ lives are cheap and unimportant and don’t matter,” Elizabeth Snyder said.
She wouldn’t discuss the reasons McCulloch gave when he met with her. She said her brother, a St. Louis County police officer, shared her sentiments on McCulloch’s decision.
Forster, 19, is charged with first-degree murder and armed criminal action in the fatal shooting of Blake Snyder, 33, of Edwardsville. Police said Forster killed Snyder after the officer responded to a disturbance call in the 10700 block of Arno Drive in Green Park on Oct. 6, 2016. Blake’s partner then shot Forster multiple times.
Forster is also charged with first-degree assault on a law enforcement officer and another count of armed criminal action.
Elizabeth Snyder said that Forster “went on social media talking about how he wanted to kill cops, and that’s exactly what he did. And if his gun didn’t jam, he would have killed (Snyder’s) partner, too.”
She said she doesn’t know how she’ll explain this to her young son, Malachi.
“That‘s gonna be fun to have to tell Malachi his daddy’s killer is in jail because Bob McCulloch didn’t give a jury the chance to decide,” she said. “I understand death penalty cases are hard to prosecute. They take a long time but it doesn’t mean you don’t do it.”
Matt Crecelius, business manager of the St. Louis County Police Association, said in an email that its members were “deeply disappointed” by McCulloch’s decision and shared Elizabeth Snyder’s sentiments but “trust his decision” and would continue to support the Snyder family.
“We remain confident Mr. McCulloch will ensure the case against this murderous coward is vigorously prosecuted and the maximum prison sentence allowed by law is sought,” Crecelius said.
Forster was 18 at the time of the killing. He remains jailed in St. Louis County in lieu of a $1 million bail. With the death penalty off the table, the mandatory sentence for someone convicted of first-degree murder is life in prison without parole.
Forster’s public defender Stephen Reynolds said in an email that his office thanked McCulloch and his assistant prosecutor Alan Key, who is handling the case, for “their careful review and consideration of this case and agree that they made the right decision not to seek the death penalty.”
McCulloch was 12 when his father, St. Louis police Officer Paul McCulloch, was shot and killed July 2, 1964, in a gun battle with a kidnapper in the 2100 block of Dickson Street at the former Pruitt-Igoe public housing complex. Eddie Glenn was convicted and sentenced to death, but the Missouri Supreme Court in 1972 reduced his sentence to life in prison.
McCulloch, a Democrat who lives in Kirkwood, is seeking his eighth term as the county’s top prosecutor in next November’s election. He was first elected in 1991.
©2017 the St. Louis Post-Dispatch