Samuel Bailey, a 74-year-old man, has been sentenced to two decades behind bars for the murder of his ex-girlfriend, Gail Keys, and for assaulting five police officers during the ordeal. Keys was 63 years old at the time of her death, which occurred on July 4, 2021, in St. Louis' Mark Twain neighborhood. According to the Circuit Attorney's Office press release, Bailey pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, first-degree burglary, five counts of first-degree assault of a special victim, and unlawful possession of a firearm.
The tragic incident began when Keys rang 911 to report a break-in at her residence, located on the 5400 block of Ruskin, and identified Bailey as the perpetrator. When police officers accompanied her to her front door, and she entered her home, Bailey shot her from inside the house, causing fatal injuries. In the process of securing the area, officers encountered Bailey as he tried to flee from the back of the house and subsequently apprehended him. A seven-shot revolver was recovered from where Bailey was arrested, and, his palm print was lifted from a broken basement window's plexiglass.
Circuit Attorney Gabe Gore expressed the gravity of the verdict and the significance of safety within one's own home. "A person's home should be their refuge. She called for help, opened her own front door with police present, and the defendant opened fire. There is no true justice when a life is taken, but we hope today’s sentence provides a measure of justice to Ms. Keys’s surviving loved ones. There is only a measure of justice, and today that measure is 20 years," Gore stated. The notable efforts of Violent Crime Unit Supervisor Adam Field, and Assistant Circuit Attorneys Aradhana Polley, and Samuel Morgan, were instrumental in prosecuting the case, as per the Circuit Attorney's Office press release.
