Missouri man gets life sentence for 2017 stabbing

Published January 22, 2022 3:04 PM

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) — A Missouri man who fatally stabbed another man because he mistakenly thought the victim was part of a sex-trafficking ring has been sentenced to life in prison. The Springfield News-Leader reports that 39-year-old Christopher Manuel, of Republic, was sentenced Friday for the 2017 killing of Bill Dauzat. He waived the right to a jury, and Judge Calvin Holden found him guilty in November of second-degree murder and armed criminal action after a bench trial. According to court documents, Manuel stabbed Dauzat at least seven times in September 2017 outside of Dauzat’s Springfield home. Manuel claimed that he was acting in self-defense, but Holden said there wasn’t enough evidence to support that argument.

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