Lisa Barlow sentenced to 20 years for Scopus, Mo., man's killing

More than two dozen friends and family members of Michael Strong filled a St. Louis County courtroom Thursday to watch a judge sentence Lisa A. Barlow to 20 years in prison.

Barlow pleaded guilty last month to Strong's murder, admitting to shooting and killing her boyfriend at his Scopus, Mo., home in summer of 2007.

As part of the plea agreement, Barlow provided investigators with a map of where they could retrieve the murder weapon, a 44-caliber Ruger Blackhawk revolver owned by Michael Strong. In exchange for her cooperation, a cap of 25 years was placed on the sentence and the charges of first-degree murder and armed criminal action were dropped to second-degree murder.

She would be eligible for parole after having served 85 percent of her sentence, meaning she'll serve 17 years before having a chance at conditional release.

St. Louis County Circuit Judge James R. Hartenbach reviewed a presentencing investigation before imposing sentence.

At Thursday's hearing, Laura Chorn, Strong's daughter, read a statement she'd prepared, saying she didn't feel as though justice had been served because "my daddy is never coming home."

"When I go to see my dad, I have to go and stare at a tombstone with his picture on it," Chorn said.

Chorn said her father was loved by everyone who knew him.

"I will never get to see my dad's hair turn gray; he will never get to see my babies get married," Chorn said.

Matt Strong, the victim's brother, also spoke before the court, saying what Barlow had done was "unforgivable."

He said Michael was the only brother he'd had and that the two were close.

"I had just him, and all those years, and now he's gone," Matt Strong said.

The murder was one of the most "cold-hearted acts" he'd ever seen in his part of the country, Matt Strong said.

On July 27, 2007, Barlow placed a frantic phone call to 911, saying intruders had broken into Michael Strong's house, where she was living.

Investigators found forensic evidence that contradicted her story, indicating Strong was laying on his sofa in a reclining position when he was shot.

There was also a 90-minute delay between when the shot was fired and when Barlow called for help, according to Bollinger County Prosecuting Attorney Stephen Gray.

Matt Strong said no real motive for the killing had surfaced during the course of the presentencing investigation.

"She had no reason to kill Mike, but she did," he said.

Sisters of Barlow who wished not to be named said they still loved her and noted that no one spoke on her behalf at the sentencing.

"God loves her, God forgives her," one said.

bdicosmo@semissourian.com

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