University Student’s Death Was Suicide; Roommate Takes Plea

A former roommate of a University of Missouri student who committed suicide has pleaded guilty to a lesser charge in the case.

The Columbia Daily Tribune reports 21-year-old Deandre Winters pleaded guilty Thursday to a misdemeanor charge of evidence tampering and will service two years of unsupervised probation.

The plea came after the Boone County Medical Examiner's Office ruled the October death of Winters' roommate was a suicide.

Winters and 23-year-old Darren Carter, both of Columbia, were charged in October with felony evidence tampering after police said they moved the student's body and the handgun used in his death.

Columbia police spokeswoman Bryana Larimer said investigators didn't find sufficient evidence to file criminal charges in Winters' case.

Carter's felony evidence charge is still pending.