After delay and relocation, Bailey Boswell trial set to start Wednesday

WILBER, NE — 14 months ago the Saline County Courthouse was flooded with reporters and onlookers as Aubrey Trail was convicted of killing and dismembering Sydney Loofe. It was one of the most sensational trials in Nebraska history and now Trail’s alleged accomplice, Bailey Boswell, will go through a similar process… but it won’t be in Wilber.

“So the judge is looking for a jury pool that is as objective and as unbiased as possible. One thing you’re concerned about if you’re a judge or an attorney in this case is the amount of pretrial publicity that has happened.”

There was certainly no shortage of publicity surrounding the Trail trial. He spoke to press before, slashed his throat during the proceedings and testified in his own defense.

Crete attorney David Solheim says moving the trial to Lexington and the Dawson County Courthouse made sense because local jurors could be too familiar with the facts of the case already.

Solheim says the trial could look similar to Trail’s, with the same evidence and witnesses. An X factor could be if witness testimony isn't consistent.

“They could very well say, ‘hey listen, you said this back in 2019, now in 2020 you’re saying this. What’s the difference, when were you lying?’”

Solheim says the defense could take a couple different strategies.

“Will she admit, as he did, that they were responsible for Sydney’s death but that it was an accident, or will she deny any role in it altogether. That’s an option she has at her disposal and that’s what will be interesting to see in terms of a defense in this case.”

It’s unclear exactly how long jury selection will take but it’s expected to last at least all of Wednesday.  Judge Vicky Johnson has set aside three weeks for the trial.

Boswell is charged with first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder and abandoning human remains.  She could face the death penalty if convicted.