The Dark Path of Jerry Lee Little Jr.

In the shadows of St. Louis, Missouri, between 1985 and 1988, a sinister figure lurked—a man whose name would become synonymous with terror for the women of this city. Jerry Lee Little Jr., born in 1956 in Marks, Mississippi, was the man behind a string of chilling murders. By the time the law caught up with him in 1988, Little was a seasoned criminal, having spent over 17 years of his life incarcerated. His final sentence would be a life imprisonment, marking the end of a violent chapter in the city’s history.

Early Life and Descent into Crime

Jerry Little's life began in a small Mississippi town, but his family's move to St. Louis when he was just four years old set the stage for a tumultuous upbringing. His father’s early death left young Jerry in the care of his mother, and by the late 1960s, his frequent absences from school and poor grades led him to abandon education after the sixth grade. This decision steered him toward a life of crime.

In 1971, Little faced his first major legal battle when he was arrested and convicted on rape charges, earning a five-year sentence in juvenile detention. He was paroled in 1974, but his newfound freedom was short-lived. Within weeks, Little participated in a robbery and gang rape, resulting in a 20-year sentence at the Missouri Eastern Correctional Center.

Paroled again in early 1984, Little attempted to build a semblance of a normal life. He married a woman he met while incarcerated, secured a low-skilled job due to his lack of education, and settled down in a modest home. However, the siren call of criminality was never far away. In 1986, his arrest for marijuana possession—an act that violated his parole—sent him back to prison. Released once more in August 1987, Little returned to St. Louis, found work at a car wash, and enrolled in night classes to resume his education.

The Murders Unfold

Jerry Little's veneer of normalcy shattered with the brutal murders that began to surface in his vicinity. By late July 1988, he was a suspect in the murders of two women: Imogen Jackson, 28, and Patricia Ann Kelly, a 50-year-old Catholic nun. Both women lived in the same apartment complex as Little and his wife since 1987. The gruesome murder of Kelly, raped and strangled on September 27, 1987, at Missouri EnergyCare Inc., where she worked with the elderly, pointed to someone familiar with the premises. Little's prior presence at the office and the absence of forced entry made him a person of interest.

The second victim, Jackson, was raped and murdered on March 10, 1988, within the same building. Little's connection to these crimes deepened when authorities considered him a suspect in Rose Jackson's murder, a 60-year-old woman strangled on December 19, 1985. Rose, a devout Baptist who once served as a prison chaplain, was known to Little. Witnesses had seen him near her apartment shortly before her death, but a lack of concrete evidence initially cleared him of suspicion.

On August 4, 1988, authorities detained Jerry Little for questioning. In a startling turn, he confessed not only to these murders but also to the slaying of Doris Orly Hayes, 48, a woman he met at night school and killed on April 10, 1988. His confessions, recorded on video, provided the damning evidence needed for charges to be brought against him.

The Trial and Verdict

The trial of Jerry Lee Little Jr. commenced in September 1990. To avoid the death penalty, Little's defense sought to consolidate all charges into a single trial—a motion the court granted. The cornerstone of the prosecution's case was Little's own confession. However, his defense claimed that he had been coerced into confessing and argued insanity, requesting a forensic examination. Little, however, refused to feign mental illness and opted to plead guilty, leading to the dismissal of his defense's request.

Throughout the trial, Little's wife and various family members stood by him, testifying in his defense. Despite their efforts, the jury found him guilty of four counts of murder involving rape. In October 1990, Jerry Little received nine life sentences, ensuring he would never walk free again.

Epilogue

In 1993, Jerry Little attempted to overturn his conviction, seeking a new trial. The appeal was denied, and his fate was sealed. The following year, Missouri enacted a law requiring offenders serving long sentences to complete 85% of their terms before becoming eligible for parole. Yet, Little would never see the implications of this law; he died on February 18, 1994, at the Central Utah Correctional Facility in Centerfield, Utah.

Sources

• [Peterson, Deborah (August 7, 1988). "New Focus Led To Arrest In Killing". St. Louis Post-Dispatch.]
• ["Jerry Lee Little confessed to four killing in the Saums Apartments. St. Louis Post-Dispatch (St. Louis, Missouri) 7 Aug 1988".]
• ["Jerry Littles wife takes stands asserts his innocence in killings. October 5, 1990". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. 5 October 1990. p. 5.]
• [Nix, Mede (August 4, 1988). "Man charged with slaying nun, two other women". UPI.]
• ["Jerry Lee Little murder suspect in four murders". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. August 7, 1988 – via Newspapers.com.]
• [Poor, Tim (October 10, 1990). "Jerry Little gets life sentence". St. Louis Post-Dispatch – via Newspapers.com.]
• ["08/17/93 State Missouri v. Jerry Lee Little August 17, 1993 State of Missouri, Respondent, v. Jerry Lee Little, Appellant. Jerry Lee Little, Movant-Appellant, v. State of Missouri, Respondent". Archived from the original on February 20, 2020. Retrieved February 21, 2020.]
• ["Getting Tough Prosecutors Hail 'Truth-in-Sentencing' Act". May 29, 1994. Archived from the original on February 20, 2020. Retrieved February 21, 2020.]