Sergeant Peletiah M. Jenks

Peletiah M. Jenks

Sergeant Peletiah Jenks was shot and killed when he attempted to disarm a woman who was waving a firearm around in a vacant lot near Biddle and Eighth Streets.

He grabbed the woman from behind but she spun around and shot him at point blank range. The woman was later apprehended.

Sadie Hays was set to be hanged on January 1, 1886, but the courts granted a reprieve. On January 24, 1887, she was allowed to plead guilty to murder in the second degree, and she was sentenced to 99 years in prison. She was pardoned by Governor Lawrence V. Stephens in 1898.

Sergeant Jenks had been a member of the St. Louis Police Department for 15 years, and was survived by his wife and several children.