Cole County Prosecuting Attorney Locke Thompson announced today that Sergio Sayles, 39, of Jefferson City was found guilty by Boone County Judge Brouck Jacobs following a bench trial this week for the 2023 slaying of Jasmine King, 22, of Jefferson City.

On April 10, 2023, Jefferson City Police Department officers responded to a 911 call from King’s apartment, where a family member found King facedown in a pool of her own blood.  An autopsy revealed that King had been stabbed 25 times by her attacker.

Subsequent investigation showed that Sayles, who told investigators he had been elsewhere during the time frame of King’s death, had actually been in the area of King’s apartment around the time of the murder. Physical evidence was later recovered from Sayles’ person and a trash can in McClung Park, where Sayles was taken into custody, that linked Sayles to the crime.

Sayles was convicted of first degree murder, armed criminal action, and tampering with physical evidence. The conviction for first degree murder carries a mandatory punishment of life without parole. Sayles will be formally sentenced by Judge Jacobs on December 1st.

The Cole County Prosecutor’s Office would like to thank the officers, investigators, and staff of the Jefferson City Police Department for their thoroughness and professionalism throughout the course of the investigation, and would also like to acknowledge Jasmine’s family for the strength and courage they displayed throughout the case.