Bio

Samuel Lee McDonald was born on November 7, 1948, in the United States. 

Murder Story

On the evening of May 16, 1981, Robert Jordan, an off-duty police officer, stopped at a liquor store in St. Louis with his 11-year-old daughter, Rochelle. As they left the store, Samuel Lee McDonald approached with a pistol and attempted to rob him. During the confrontation, McDonald shot Jordan in the chest. Badly wounded and on his knees, Jordan handed over his wallet, which contained his police badge. As the robber began to leave, he turned back and shot Jordan a second time.

Despite his injuries, Jordan drew his service revolver and fired several shots, striking McDonald as he fled. Jordan managed to stagger back into the store, where he collapsed and died shortly afterward. McDonald escaped in a car driven by Jacqueline Blue, but police later recovered Jordan’s wallet, badge, the murder weapon, and clothing tied to the crime. Eyewitness testimony, including that of Rochelle Jordan, identified him as the killer.

McDonald was indicted for capital murder on June 12, 1981. A jury convicted him on February 24, 1982, and he was sentenced to death on May 17, 1982. For the next fifteen years, he challenged the conviction through state and federal appeals, but the courts repeatedly upheld the sentence. After all legal efforts failed, Samuel Lee McDonald was executed by lethal injection in Missouri on September 24, 1997.