Lady, 81, Sentenced to Life for Killing Romantic Rival

• 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 had been each concerned with the identical man, Jack Owen, on the similar time

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

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. Nevertheless, on account of a Wisconsin state regulation from the 12 months of Menke’s homicide, Bailey was granted the potential for parole in simply over 19 years. Bailey’s protection group mentioned her conviction could also be appealed.

Because of the 1985 Wisconsin regulation, 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. 

“Aside 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 youngsters – Julie Connors, Sue Raska and James Menke Jr. – supplied statements.

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

“To me, this isn’t justice,” mentioned James Jr., who was 16 in 1985. “She acquired to steer her life. We didn’t stay ours. However 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 let loose once more.”

The chilly case into Menke’s demise wasn’t reinvestigated till 2021, when a felony grievance reported the 2 ladies had been romantically concerned with the identical man, Jack Owen, on the similar time. (Owen married a special girl and moved to Montana. He died in 2021, per WQOW.)

On Dec. 12, 1985, Menke — who was a 45-year-old mom of 4 youngsters — was fatally shot as soon as within the neck and twice behind the pinnacle, allegedly by Bailey exterior of her residence constructing. After telling her daughter she was going exterior to heat up her automobile earlier than work, her daughter allegedly heard the gunshots after which seemed 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 be aware within the sufferer’s purse with Bailey’s automobile data. Moreover, Menke’s household alleged that they acquired repeated cellphone calls from an unknown girl 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. 

“Because the preliminary investigation was performed, it was possible that many topics had discovered extra details about the case that could be related and never but reported to regulation enforcement. Moreover, officers suspected there have been topics who had been dwelling within the space on the time of the murder that didn’t come ahead with details about the murder for worry of retaliation,” the felony grievance 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.