Judge Rejects Motion Against Death Penalty In Loofe Murder Case

The death penalty remains on the table for Bailey Boswell, one of two people charged in the death of a former Neligh woman.

A motion by Boswell's attorney claiming Nebraska's death penalty law was unconstitutional was rejected Tuesday by District Judge Vicky Johnson, who then set a hearing date of Dec. 17 to arraign Boswell on charges of first-degree murder and illegal disposal of a body in the death of Sydney Loofe.

Todd Lancaster, Boswell’s court-appointed lawyer from the Nebraska Commission on Public Advocacy, had argued that, in 2008, the Nebraska Supreme Court ruled that execution by the electric chair was unconstitutional.

Boswell has still not entered a plea in the case. Her boyfriend, 52-year-old Aubrey Trail has pleaded not guilty. Both are charged with murder in the first degree, a class 1 or class 1A felony, which carries a maximum penalty of life in prison (Class 1) or the death penalty (Class 1A); and improper disposal of human skeletal remains, a class IV felony, which carries up to 2 years in prison and a fine. 

Trail's trial is scheduled of June 2019 in Saline County.