It took a Lexington jury just 3-½ hours of deliberation on Wednesday after a 3 week trial to find 26-year old Bailey Boswell guilty of 1st-degree murder and 2 other counts in the Nov 2017 murder and dismemberment of 24-year old Sidney Loofe of Lincoln.
The same jury will now hear evidence and testimony on whether Boswell should be put to death or serve life in prison without parole. If the jury recommends execution, a 3-judge panel will hold a similar hearing and make the final decision between a life sentence or death.
Boswell’s 54-year old boyfriend Aubrey Trail was convicted on the same charges with the jury recommending death, but his panel of judges was postponed until after Boswell’s trial was completed.
The couple was accused of using a dating app to meet Loofe, then killing in their apartment in Wilber after the 2 women had gone on a date, cutting up the body, and disposing of the parts in garbage bags left along rural Nebraska roads.
Boswell’s defense team called no witnesses during her trial and tried to place all the blame on Trail, saying he controlled Boswell through a combination of charm and intimidation. The prosecution said Loofe would still be alive if not for Boswell’s involvement.
Shortly after the verdict was read, Nebraska Attorney General Doug Peterson released a statement saying his office was pleased with the jury’s decision, thanked all the agencies involved in the case, and offered sympathy to the Loofe family with the hope that the verdict provides some level of consolation.