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Taylorville man sentenced to probation after wife recorded fight that ended with her found dead near stadium

By Bruce Kropp Sep 13, 2023 | 8:51 PM

ST. LOUIS (AP) — A newlywed Illinois prison guard was sentenced Tuesday to probation after his wife recorded a fight that ended with her being found dead at the bottom of a parking garage near the stadium where the St. Louis Cardinals play.

Bradley Jenkins, of Taylorville, was initially charged with third-degree felony domestic assault after 27-year-old Allissa Martin’s 2019 death. Court documents say a video taken on Martin’s phone recorded Martin yelling at Jenkins to stop punching her in the face before she dropped the phone. Jenkins was a lieutenant for the Illinois Department of Corrections at the time.

But after a grand jury declined to indict him, he was recharged with a lesser count of misdemeanor assault. He pleaded guilty to that charge before he was sentenced, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.

In June 2022, Martin’s mother sued a bar, the parking garage operator, and Jenkins for the wrongful death of her daughter. She argues that the bar overserved alcohol to her son-in-law and the parking garage operator didn’t provide adequate security. That case is ongoing.