Trial date set for two charged in Chattanooga pastor slaying

Thursday, December 15, 2011

photo Sixteen-year-old Brendan Barnes, left, and his cousin Antonio Henry, 25, are charged in the death of Rev. David Strong.

Two men charged in the beating and stabbing death of a local pastor in October 2010 face a May 22, 2012, trial date.

Hamilton County Criminal Court Judge Don Poole set the date this morning for cousins Antonio Henry, 26, and Brendan Barnes, 17, who are charged with first-degree murder and especially aggravated robbery in connection with the death of 55-year-old David Strong.

Chattanooga Police Department officers found Strong's body in his home days after the beating and stabbing attack. The pair told police they beat Strong on Oct. 5, 2010, at his 404 Glenwood Drive home. But each blames the other for the 29 stab wounds found during Strong's autopsy, according to court documents.

Henry told the Times Free Press in a jailhouse interview last year he "snapped" when Strong asked him to masturbate in front of him when he and Barnes were at Strong's home smoking marijuana.

An autopsy showed both alcohol and THC, marijuana's active ingredient, in Strong's blood.

For complete details, see tomorrow's Chattanooga Times Free Press.