St. Louis man acquitted of murder in 2019 shooting death of Collinsville woman

A St. Louis County jury has acquitted a man of murder in the 2019 shooting death of a Collinsville woman.

The jury deliberated nearly six hours Thursday at the county courthouse in Clayton, Missouri, before finding Rashad J. Manning, 41, of St. Louis, not guilty in the death of Amy Wiseman, of Collinsville, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.

Wiseman, 34, was shot to death on Sept. 27, 2019, in the 10200 block of Duke Drive in the Castle Point neighborhood of north St. Louis County. At the time, police said she was a bystander in a dispute between two other people.

Manning was arrested on Oct. 8, 2019, in Mississippi. He was charged with first-degree murder and armed criminal action.

On Thursday, the jury found Manning not guilty on both charges.

Witnesses testified that Manning showed up at a home, banging on the door, that an argument ensued over why he knocked so loudly and that he shot at the homeowner, Manning’s attorney, Michael Hufty, told the Post-Dispatch.

Manning admitted going to the home to sell drugs but maintained that he was a victim of an attempted robbery, that he resisted and that a gun went off, according to Hufty.

“There was a firearm and a struggle and nobody really knows what happened,” Hufty said.

Chris King, spokesman for St. Louis County prosecutor Wesley Bell, said the homeowner ducked when Manning shot at the homeowner and Wiseman was hit, the Post-Dispatch reported.

Manning remained at St. Louis County Jail on Friday. He was being held on a stealing charge in an unrelated case.