MARY JOSEPHINE BAILEY | An 81-Year-Old Woman Nearly Got Away With A Twisted Love Triangle Murder. A Footprint Did Her In 4 Decades Later. | Sentenced To Life In Prison In Cold Case | Autographed Letter, Signed

Mary J. Bailey. Autographed Letter, Signed. Handwritten, Commercial #10 (4.125 × 9.5 envelope). Saint Paul, MN. July 15, 2024. Content unknown. SEALED.

The reported motive for the murder of Yvonne Carol Menke was jealousy arising from a love triangle among the victim, Mary Josephine Bailey, and a man named Jack Owen. Bailey was convicted of first-degree murder after evidence surfaced linking her to the crime scene and the victim. Suggestions pointed to the attack reflecting a personal connection and a strong emotional reaction towards Menke.

The case details indicate that Bailey had been involved in somewhat of a love triangle with Menke and Owen, which led to a complex emotional situation. During the investigation, it was found that Bailey had made several calls to Menke in 1985 and possessed the same type of gun used in the murder. This, along with additional evidence, led investigators to conclude that jealousy drove Bailey’s actions. Bailey was convicted almost 40 years after the crime, underscoring law enforcement’s dedication to solving cold cases.

Bailey was considered a suspect in the early days of the investigation, as several people told law enforcement that Jack Owen, Menke, and Bailey, whose last name then was Lunsmann, had been “involved in somewhat of a ‘love triangle,” the criminal complaint said. That aspect of the case became stronger during the eight-day trial.

“We learned information from one of Ms. Bailey’s friends back then about her having been outside of Yvonne’s apartment when Jack was there; she had been kind of pointing up at the window where Jack and Yvonne were,” and she was jealous.

Another witness saw Bailey parked outside of Menke’s apartment one night after midnight. The evidence showed Bailey “had been essentially stalking Jack and Yvonne.”

The cold case was solved.

According to Kemp, prosecuting a cold case posed challenges due to deceased witnesses and faded memories of some individuals.

Menke was shot three times in the head and neck in a stairwell of her apartment complex just before 6:30 am. Investigators found a boot print in the snow near Menke’s body, with the word “arctic” visible in the area where the front of the heel would be, and the same boot print about a block away.

This piece of physical evidence was considered the most crucial in the case. It was an Arctic Cat brand boot, women’s size 5. There were about 1,000 of that style and size of boots sold worldwide between 1973 and 1985. “That’s a small number of boots.”

Bailey’s boots, a pair of size 5 Arctic Cat snowmobile boots, were submitted to the Wisconsin State Crime Laboratory for comparison to the boot prints found at the murder scene. The lab concluded her boots were consistent with the sulfur casts taken by officers at the scene in terms of tread pattern, size, and wear pattern, according to the criminal complaint.

“The rest of it is all part of a puzzle—you put together all the pieces. Some of them were known back then, and some of them weren’t learned until more recently. When all the pieces of the puzzle were assembled, they unequivocally implicated Bailey.”

In late 2021 and through the winter of 2022, investigators in Polk County revisited the case, conducting new interviews with individuals familiar with Owen, Bailey, and Menke. Owen passed away in October 2021 while residing in Montana with his wife.

VIDEO: Woman in Arizona arrested for 1985 St. Croix Falls unsolved murder | https://youtu.be/pzoxDexmArA

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