Bailey Boswell: Woman who lured cashier back to her house to strangle her and cut her into 14 pieces escapes death penalty
Bailey Boswell, a woman who lured a cashier back to her house and then strangled her and cut her into 14 pieces, escaped the death penalty as she was sentenced to life in prison without parole.
Boswell avoided being the first woman in Nebraska to be sentenced to death following her conviction alongside Aubrey Trail for the 2017 murder of Sydney Loofe from Lincoln, the state capital.
A panel of three judges had the option of sending Boswell to death row, but chose not to do so, with Douglas County Judge Peter Bataillon saying the state prosecutors didn’t prove the aggravating circumstance of exceptional depravity in the murder, KETV7 reported.
Fellow judges Vicky Johnson and Darla Ideus thought the state had proved the aggravating circumstance, but unanimity among the judges is required for the death sentence to be handed down. The sentence was announced on Monday in Wilber, Nebraska.
Prosecutors argued in June and July that Boswell should be sentenced to death because the murder of Ms Loofe was “especially depraved and heinous”.
Judge Johnson said the killing was “coldly planned”, which helped the case that the death penalty was warranted. “Boswell coldly and deliberately chose Sydney Loofe,” she said. She cited the large number of cuts made to the body of Ms Loofe.
“They are not there as a cause of the murder. These cuts evidence an exceptionally-depraved mind,” Judge Johnson noted.
The remains of Ms Loofe were found in 14 pieces in a farm field in Nebraska almost three weeks after she disappeared in November 2017. Parts of her body, including the heart and other organs, were never found.
“Ms Loofe was needlessly mutilated by Trail and Boswell as part of the plan to satisfy her sexual desire. The mutilation was not done as an afterthought to hide the body,” Judge Johnson added.
Judge Bataillion disagreed.
“After receiving and reviewing the evidence of the state and the defendant as the sole aggravating circumstance, as alleged by the state, that the murder manifested exceptional depravity by ordinary standards of morality and intelligence, I could not find beyond a reasonable doubt that the state of Nebraska met his burden of proof as to this aggravating circumstance,” Judge Bataillion said.
“Nothing in this dissent should be understood to diminish the sentences of the murder of Sidney Loofe and the great pain this has caused her family and friends,” he added. “However, because I could not find that the state had met its burden of proof as to the aggravating circumstances. I hereby dissent from the other two judges on this panel.”
Prosecutors said the 27-year-old Boswell and Aubrey Trail, 55, linked up with Ms Loofe on an online dating site, with evidence suggesting that they performed a sexual fantasy during the murder.
In October of last year, Boswell was convicted of first-degree murder, unlawful disposal of human remains, and criminal conspiracy.
Trail was previously sentenced to death for first-degree murder, in addition to convictions for conspiracy to commit first-degree murder and unlawful disposal of a body.
The pair were recorded buying saws and other tools, as well as bleach, roaster pans, and trash bags following the disappearance of Ms Loofe.
Defence lawyers argued that Boswell was pulled along by Trail and shouldn’t bear the same responsibility. During the hearing, Boswell said she was sorry for the death of Ms Loofe.
Ms Loofe, 24, was last seen leaving her job as a clerk in Lincoln, Nebraska in November 2017. Before vanishing, she had told a friend she was meeting a friend called Aubrey from Tinder, KETV7 reported.
Boswell moved in with Trail in a Wilber apartment in August 2017.
They discussed possible murders both before and after the death of Ms Loofe. They were arrested in Branson, Missouri two weeks after her death.
The Independent and the nonprofit Responsible Business Initiative for Justice (RBIJ) have launched a joint campaign calling for an end to the death penalty in the US. The RBIJ has attracted more than 150 well-known signatories to their Business Leaders Declaration Against the Death Penalty - with The Independent as the latest on the list. We join high-profile executives like Ariana Huffington, Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg, and Virgin Group founder Sir Richard Branson as part of this initiative and are making a pledge to highlight the injustices of the death penalty in our coverage.
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