An 81-year-old Woman Was Sentenced to Life in Prison for Killing a Rival in a Love Triangle in 1985
An 81-year-old lady was sentenced to life in prison on Tuesday, July 2, following her June conviction for the 1985 murder of her romantic rival, according to Kare 11, WQOW, and The Osceola Sun.
Mary Jo Bailey was convicted of first-degree murder of Yvonne Menke on June 5. Bailey was sentenced to life in prison on July 2 during a hearing at the Polk County Courthouse. However, according to a Wisconsin state legislation enacted the year Menke was murdered, Bailey was offered the prospect of parole in just over 19 years. Bailey’s defense team stated that her conviction may be appealed.
Judge Scott Nordstrand was unable to add or deduct time from her sentence according to a Wisconsin law passed in 1985. However, in court, he stated that he would have set her parole eligibility at 38 years, according to WQOW. “I think it’s important to emphasize how terrible and horrific this act was. “And cold-blooded,” Nordstrand explained.
“Other than her lack of denial, Ms. Bailey has not admitted what she did, she has not taken accountability for her actions, and she has shown no remorse,” Assistant District Attorney Holly Wood-Webster told The Osceola Sun. “In reality, after her conviction, she assured the bailiff that she could now retire without worrying about it. This constitutes first-degree murder… “Ms. Bailey should not be eligible for parole.”
Before Bailey’s sentencing was revealed, three of Menke’s children, Julie Connors, Sue Raska, and James Menke Jr., issued statements.
“You waited in a dark stairwell to cruelly murder my mother. “You sentenced us to a life of pain, sadness, and hurt,” said Connors, who was 20 when her mother was murdered. Connors also read a statement from her sister Raska, who was pregnant when Menke died.
“To me, this is not justice,” said James Jr., 16 years old in 1985. “She had the opportunity to direct her own life. We did not live ours. But this is as near as it’s going to get. So we can now put this behind us. But [Bailey] should never be allowed out again.”
The cold case of Menke’s death was not reopened until 2021, when a criminal complaint revealed that both ladies were romantically associated with the same man, Jack Owen, at the time.
On December 12, 1985, Menke, a 45-year-old mother of four, was fatally shot once in the neck and twice in the back of the skull, reportedly by Bailey outside her apartment building. After informing her daughter she was going outside to warm up her car before work, she allegedly heard gunshots and glanced out the window to see someone fleeing the murder scene. Her mother was later discovered deceased at the foot of the building’s outdoor steps.
Bailey’s boots matched the shoe prints in the snow, and the victim’s pocketbook had a note with Bailey’s automobile details. Furthermore, Menke’s family said that they received multiple phone calls from an unknown woman asking what time Menke departed for work in the morning.
Lt. Andrew Vitalis and Polk County Investigations Liaison Deputy Mark Biller reopened the cold case in 2021, conducting additional interviews with witnesses.
“Since the first inquiry, it was likely that numerous individuals had discovered new information about the case that had not yet been submitted to law authorities. Additionally, detectives feared that there were persons who had been living in the vicinity at the time of the crime. Still, they did not come forward with information about the homicide for fear of retaliation,” according to the criminal complaint, reported by WQOW.