A former Cooper County jailer is headed to prison for three years in connection with the 2023 death of an inmate in her care. Robyn Pfeiffer was sentenced Friday, April 3, after a Callaway County jury convicted her in February of first-degree involuntary manslaughter, ABC17 reports.
The case goes back to October 27, 2023, when inmate Brooke Bailey, who was being held at the jail on a mental health commitment, died of diabetic ketoacidosis and low sodium levels, per a medical examiner’s finding. Court records describe jail staff, including Pfeiffer, dismissing Bailey’s repeated complaints of feeling sick — one account has Pfeiffer describing it as Bailey “playing games.” Bailey was later found dead in her cell.
A co-defendant, Rachel Atherton, a second former jailer in the case, was still awaiting her own day in court as of sentencing — a four-day bench trial was set to begin April 21. No verdict from that trial had been reported publicly as of this writing.
Why it matters here: Cooper County’s jail, just across the river. A case like this is a reminder that who’s watching over that facility — and how — is worth every reader’s attention, not just a headline that scrolls by.