Girl, 81, Sentenced to Life for Killing Romantic Rivaltheinsiderinsight

• Mary Jo Bailey, 81, was sentenced to life in jail on July 2 for the first-degree homicide of Yvonne Menke
• Yvonne Menke was fatally shot thrice in December 1985, and her case was reopened in 2021
• Bailey and Menke have been each concerned with the identical man, Jack Owen, on the identical time

An 81-year-old lady was sentenced to life in jail on Tuesday, July 2, after she was convicted in June for the 1985 homicide of her romantic rival, stories Kare 11, WQOW and The Osceola Sun.

Mary Jo Bailey was convicted of the first-degree homicide of Yvonne Menke on June 5. Within the July 2 sentencing listening to held on the Polk County Courthouse, Bailey was sentenced to a compulsory life time period. Nonetheless, as a consequence of a Wisconsin state legislation from the yr of Menke’s homicide, Bailey was granted the potential for parole in simply over 19 years. Bailey’s protection staff mentioned her conviction could also be appealed.

Because of the 1985 Wisconsin legislation, Decide Scott Nordstrand couldn’t add or subtract time from her sentence. However he mentioned in court docket he would have set her parole eligibility at 38 years, per WQOW. “I believe it must be mentioned how brutal and the way horrific this crime was. And cold-blooded,” Nordstrand mentioned. 

“Apart from her lack of denial, Ms. Bailey has not admitted what she did, she has not taken accountability for her actions, she has proven no regret,” Assistant District Legal professional Holly Wooden-Webster mentioned, per The Osceola Solar. “The truth is, she advised the bailiff after she was convicted that she will now retire and never fear about it. That is first-degree homicide … Ms. Bailey shouldn’t be eligible for parole.”

Earlier than Bailey’s sentence was introduced, three of Menke’s kids – Julie Connors, Sue Raska and James Menke Jr. – offered statements.

“You waited in a darkish stairwell to maliciously homicide my mother. You sentenced us to a life crammed with ache, unhappiness and harm,” mentioned Connors, who was 20 on the time of her mom’s homicide. Connors additionally learn an announcement from her sister Raska, who was pregnant on the time of Menke’s loss of life.

“To me, this isn’t justice,” mentioned James Jr., who was 16 in 1985. “She bought to steer her life. We didn’t stay ours. Nevertheless it’s as shut because it’s going to get. So, now we are able to lastly put this behind us. However [Bailey] ought to by no means be set free once more.”

The chilly case into Menke’s loss of life wasn’t reinvestigated till 2021, when a legal criticism reported the 2 girls have been romantically concerned with the identical man, Jack Owen, on the identical time. (Owen married a unique lady and moved to Montana. He died in 2021, per WQOW.)

On Dec. 12, 1985, Menke — who was a 45-year-old mom of 4 kids — was fatally shot as soon as within the neck and twice behind the pinnacle, allegedly by Bailey exterior of her condominium constructing. After telling her daughter she was going exterior to heat up her automotive earlier than work, her daughter allegedly heard the gunshots after which appeared out the window and noticed an individual working from the crime scene. Her mom was then discovered useless on the backside of the constructing’s exterior stairs.

Proof revealed that Bailey’s boots matched the shoe prints within the snow and a word within the sufferer’s purse with Bailey’s automotive data. Moreover, Menke’s household alleged that they acquired repeated telephone calls from an unknown lady who inquired about what time Menke left for work within the morning.

Thirty-six years later, in 2021, Lt. Andrew Vitalis and Polk County Investigations Liaison Deputy Mark Biller began to reinvestigate the chilly case with new interviews with witnesses. 

“For the reason that preliminary investigation was carried out, it was possible that many topics had realized further details about the case which may be related and never but reported to legislation enforcement. Moreover, officers suspected there have been topics who had been residing within the space on the time of the murder that didn’t come ahead with details about the murder for concern of retaliation,” the legal criticism states, per WQOW.

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A consultant for the Wisconsin Courts didn’t instantly reply to PEOPLE’s request for extra data on Tuesday.