Nebraska Supreme Court rejects Bailey Boswell’s appeal, upholds murder conviction

LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) - The Nebraska Supreme Court on Friday rejected Bailey Boswell’s appeal for the murder of 24-year-old Sydney Loofe and upheld her murder conviction.

Boswell was sentenced in 2021 to life in prison for her role in the 2017 murder of Loofe, just a few months after her co-defendant and boyfriend at the time, Aubrey Trail, was put on death row for the same crimes. Boswell was spared from the death penalty, which would have made her the first woman on death row in the state.

In 2017, Trail and Boswell killed a woman they just met and dumped her body. Trail admitted to killing Loofe, saying he and Boswell lured her to his apartment in Wilber to get her involved in their criminal lifestyle. Trail claimed Loofe did not react well and he said he killed her because he was afraid she would inform others about their activities. Trail had earlier said Loofe was killed after a sex act gone wrong.

Evidence showed both Trail and Boswell made a plan to kill Loofe after Boswell met her on a dating app. Loofe disappeared on the second date — and her body parts were found scattered in the countryside near Wilber, Neb.

In Boswell’s direct appeal, she challenged the admission of photographs of Loofe’s dismembered body, arguing the numerous admissions of gruesome photographs were “more prejudicial than probative, and were needlessly cumulative”.

Boswell also argued the evidence entered regarding witchcraft and sex acts was irrelevant and reflected on Boswell’s character, not actions, which she argued isn’t admissible in court.

The Nebraska Supreme Court ultimately found no errors in the district court’s rulings and affirmed Boswell’s convictions and sentences.

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