Robert T. Jordan was 46 and off-duty when he was killed on the night of May 15, 1981, in the 4400 block of Shreve Avenue in the City of St. Louis. A former Marine and nearly two decades into a career with the St. Louis County Police Department, Jordan had been visiting a package liquor and confectionery store with his 11-year-old daughter. Around 11:00 p.m. they were confronted by an armed man identified as Samuel McDonald, who demanded Jordan’s wallet. When McDonald discovered Jordan’s police badge, he shot Jordan three times in the chest. Jordan managed to fire back, wounding McDonald, before being taken to Barnes Hospital and dying shortly after midnight on May 16, 1981.

McDonald fled with help from a girlfriend but later sought treatment for the wounds Jordan had inflicted. Police located and arrested him at a Veterans Administration hospital and recovered Jordan’s wallet on his person. McDonald was tried on capital murder charges; witnesses including Jordan’s daughter testified at trial and he was convicted and sentenced to death.