Robert Jason Barroso II was 28 when he was killed in the winter of 2016 after a confrontation with a longtime friend in the Battle Creek area. The dispute reportedly revolved around a romantic entanglement both men had been involved in, and tensions had flared before. On December 27 a text challenge from Barroso to the other man led to a meeting in a wooded area in Lee Township.

Barroso’s body was found frozen in that wooded area on January 6, 2017. An autopsy recorded five gunshot wounds to his back and about seven stab wounds to his head, face, and neck, including one that penetrated the skull and brain. The man accused, 29-year-old Stephen Getter, led police to the scene and was arrested on open murder and felony firearm charges.

At trial in Calhoun County Circuit Court Getter testified he acted in self-defense, saying Barroso had come at him with a knife and that he did not realize the shots were to the back until the pathologist testified. The jury rejected the self-defense claim and found Getter guilty of first-degree murder.

Did anyone who knew Barroso or his circle notice the tensions between the two men before December 27?