Convicted of Murder, Bailey Boswell Argues Case Does Not Warrant Death Sentence

The hearing to determine whether Bailey Boswell, 27, will be the first woman to be sentenced to death in Nebraska began Wednesday morning at the Saline County Courthouse.

A jury found the woman guilty of assisting Aubrey Trail with killing and dismembering Sydney Loofe in the couple’s apartment in Wilber.

Boswell’s attorney, Todd Lancaster, told the court he intends to raise questions about whether the Nebraska’s prison system has the capability of housing an individual woman in isolation without violating the constitutional prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment.

Lancaster also said he will argue definitions of heinous, depraved or immoral in Nebraska state law are not straight-forward and must be carefully considered when reviewing Boswell’s actions in this case. He urged the judge’s not to assume his client had the same mind-set and level of involvement as her partner, Trail.

In the prosecution’s opening statement, Assistant Attorney General Doug Warner, reviewed details of the murder heard previously at Boswell’s jury trial. Specifically, he cited Boswell’s involvement in creating a false identity on the dating app Tinder, which lured Loofe to her death.

A panel of three judges will determine whether Boswell’s involvement in the murder meets the standard for capital punishment set under state law. Saline County District Judge Vicky Johnson is presiding. District Court Judges Darla S. Ideus and Peter Battalion were chosen at random to assist in reviewing the sentence.

The judges will announce the sentence following a review of the case that ordinarily takes several weeks.