The Supreme Court of Iowa

Murder conviction upheld for Marengo woman who beat her boyfriend to death

Two others also convicted in Curtis Bailey's July 2009 death

The first-degree murder conviction of a Marengo woman who beat to death her boyfriend in 2009 was upheld Friday by the Iowa Supreme Court.

Denise Frei, 47, was sentenced to life in prison in 2011 for the first-degree murder of her boyfriend Curtis Bailey on July 19, 2009. She was convicted Aug. 25, 2011 after a weeklong jury trial in Davenport.

Frei on appeal argues the trial court should have granted her motion for mistrial and by giving improper jury instructions on justification, insanity and reasonable doubt. Frei claimed insanity as her defense.

Frei beat Bailey, 33, of Marengo, to death with a rock and other objects in his home. She claimed she’d been verbally, physically and sexually abused by Bailey for six years and that she had to kill him to save the life of her son, Jacob Hilgendorf, and other family members.

Hilgendorf, 23 and his friend Jessica Dayton, 22, aided her by helping her plan to get Bailey drunk and then suffocating him with plastic wrap. The plan went awry when Bailey unexpectedly awoke and a struggle ensued. The three then used a rock, a candy dish and an ashtray to beat him until he was dead.

Hilgendorf and Dayton also were convicted of first-degree murder and are serving life sentences.

According to the court ruling, the trial court gave the proper instructions for a justification defense and reasonable doubt, which included legal elements and didn’t violate her due process rights.

Frei also argues the insanity instruction she submitted, which put the burden of proof on the state, shouldn’t have been denied by the court but her argument on appeal is different from what she raised in her motion for a new trial so the court couldn’t review that argument.

Third defendant in Bailey slaying sentenced to life

Denise Frei was convicted of the first-degree murder of Curtis Bailey

MARENGO — Alex Bailey looked straight at the woman he once trusted as a second mother, the woman who killed his father.

“You took my dad from me,” the 16-year-old told Denise Frei. “He will never see me grow up. He will never see my graduation. He will never meet his grandchildren.”

Frei, 46, of Marengo, was sentenced Monday to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the first-degree murder of her boyfriend Curtis Bailey on July 19, 2009. She was convicted Aug. 25 after a weeklong jury trial in Davenport.

Frei beat Bailey, 33, of Marengo, to death with a rock and other objects in his home. She claimed she’d been verbally, physically and sexually abused by Bailey for six years and that she had to kill him to save the life of her son, Jacob Hilgendorf.

Frei, aided by Hilgendorf and his friend Jessica Dayton, both 21, planned to get Bailey drunk and then suffocate him with plastic wrap. But the plan changed when Bailey awoke and a struggle ensued. The three then used a rock, a candy dish and an ashtray to beat him until he was dead.

Hilgendorf and Dayton both were earlier convicted of first-degree murder and are serving life sentences.

Frei told Judge Denver Dillard on Monday that she hoped her conviction would bring about more education about domestic violence.

“Don’t think you can fix the abuser all by yourself, because it’s not possible,” Frei said in a short statement.

But Frei had other options than killing her partner, Dillard said.

“You had alternatives,” Dillard said. “The evidence also shows that if you had exercised those options, it would have reduced your financial outcome. What you did was for financial profit in addition to any other claim that you make.”

Michelle Geary, Alex Bailey’s mother, described telling her son his father was dead.

“The woman he trusted and loved like a second mother had planned and murdered his dad,” Geary said, wiping tears away during her impact statement. “Denise, I will never forgive you for what you have done to my family and Curt’s family.”

Dillard ordered Frei to pay $150,000 to Bailey’s estate and $7,932 to the Crime Victims’ Assistance Program.

Frei guilty of first-degree murder

'Storm clouds have passed,' victim's son says

By Trish Mehaffey - TheGazette.com

August 25, 2011

DAVENPORT — Alex Bailey said Thursday a weight has been lifted off his shoulders.

“The storm clouds have passed and it’s a bright and sunny day,” said Alex, 16, of Marengo. He was all smiles after a jury found Denise Frei, the former girlfriend of his father, Curtis Bailey, guilty of first degree murder.

Earlier, Alex had teared up and hugged his mother, Michelle Geary, after the verdict was announced. Friends and other family members of Bailey also cried and seemed relieved.

Frei, 45, of Marengo, had no reaction to the verdict until she was handcuffed. She then started crying as she was led out of a Scott County District courtroom.

The jury had started deliberating Wednesday afternoon, and after a little more than four hours of deliberation, members announced they had a verdict at about 10 a.m. Thursday.

Frei will be sentenced in about three weeks. She faces a mandatory life sentence without parole.

Frei beat Bailey, 33, of Marengo, to death with a rock and other objects July 19, 2009 in his home. She claimed she was verbally, physically and sexually abused by Bailey for six years and had to kill him to save her son Jacob Hilgendorf’s life.

Frei, aided by Hilgendorf and his friend Jessica Dayton, both 21, planned to get Bailey drunk and then suffocate him with plastic wrap. But the plan changed when Bailey awoke and a struggle ensued. The three then used a rock, a candy dish and an ashtray to beat him until he was dead.

Hilgendorf and Dayton both were earlier convicted of first-degree murder and are serving life sentences.

Frei testified during the week-long trial that Bailey threatened to burn Hilgendorf and her 4-year-old grandson if she ever left him. She said the slaying was in self-defense and that she suffered from battered woman syndrome.

Bailey’s ex-wife Geary said she was happy with the verdict.

“We’re not vengeful people but I’m glad she’s stuck away for the rest of her life,” she said.

Alex said he was happy it was all over so he could move on and go back to school.

Assistant Iowa County Attorney Lou McMeen said he was pleased with the verdict.

“It was just and appropriate,” McMeen said. “I want to thank the support Iowa County had from the Attorney General’s Office and Assistant Attorney General Douglas Hammerand (who prosecuted the case), and the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation and the Iowa County Sheriff’s Office.”

Kjas Long, Frei’s attorney, left the courtroom and wasn’t available for comment.

Closing arguments describe Denise Frei as calculated killer, protective mother

By Trish Mehaffey - TheGazette.com

August 24, 2011

DAVENPORT – Denise Frei’s plan to kill boyfriend Curtis Bailey wasn’t justified, she had a specific intent to kill him and her claim of being a battered woman doesn’t give her a license to kill, Assistant Attorney General Douglas Hammerand said Wednesday in his closing.

“She was cold and calculated,” Hammerand said after playing a portion of her confession in a police interview for the jury.

Hammerand said she thought she had the “perfect” plan to suffocate Bailey with plastic wrap, so there would be no marks, until he awoke. They could have stopped at that point but instead, Frei picked up a rock and started beating him – 11 to 30 times – and didn’t stop until he died.

“Curtis Bailey created this situation that led to his death,” Kjas Long, Frei’s attorney in his closing. “Denise Frei just wanted to escape his abuse, verbal belittling and the sexual acts forced on her. Bailey had many chances to back off but he refused.”

Long said the evidence shows Frei’s motive was to save her son and grandson.

The jury started deliberating about 12:15 p.m. The trial started Aug. 15 and testimony wrapped up Tuesday.

Frei, 45, of Marengo, is accused of beating to death Bailey, 33, of Marengo, with a rock and other objects July 19, 2009. Frei’s son Jacob Hilgendorf and friend Jessica Dayton, both 21, were convicted and serving life sentences for their part in the crime.

Frei testified Monday she killed Bailey because he sexually, physically and verbally abused her and threatened to burn or kill her children if she left him. She had no other way out, except to end his life, she said.

Hammerand said the state met its burden of proof for first-degree murder. The jury shouldn’t consider the defense’s claims of self-defense or insanity because the killing wasn’t justified and the defense didn’t meet the burden for legal insanity.

Hammerand said Frei wasn’t justified in killing Bailey because she wasn’t in imminent danger, which is required for self-defense.

“She’s not justified if she started or continued the incident,” he said.

Frei isn’t legally insane, Hammerand said. A person must be incapable of understanding the nature and quality of an act or not able to distinguish right from wrong, Hammerand said. Both expert witnesses said she understood her actions and knew it was wrong.

Marilyn Hutchinson, a psychologist from Wichita, Kans., testified Frei suffered from post-traumatic stress and battered woman syndrome, Long said. Frei perceived danger differently than others because of her mental illness. She believed her son was in imminent danger.

“Frei didn’t act with malice, she wanted to escape,” Long said. “She didn’t have an evil heart. She tried to kill Bailey in a way so he wouldn’t suffer (using plastic wrap). You can consider manslaughter because malice wasn’t involved.”

Jurors should consider insanity if they decide she’s not guilty of the lesser offenses, Long said.

“So, now it’s Curt’s fault or it must be the police or is it Denise Frei’s fault?” Hammerand said on rebuttal argument. “Pick a defense. This isn’t a game show.”

Frei wasn’t justified, Hammerand said. There was no imminent threat. She chose suffocation because it was something she thought nobody could detect, not because she was being humane.

“No malice in this case, seriously?” Hammerand said. “They took a rock that left a deep impression in his head. If that’s not malice, what is?”

“Frei chose to kill him. Nobody had to die,” Hammerand said.

Frei has no psychological disorders, psychiatrist testifies

Testimony conflicts with previous witness in Marengo woman's murder trial

By Trish Mehaffey - TheGazette.com

August 23, 2011

UPDATE: A psychiatrist testified Tuesday that Denise Frei does not meet the criteria for legal insanity and does not suffer from any psychological disorders, contradicting a Kansas psychologist who testified Monday.

Dr. Michael Taylor said he disagrees with psychologist Marilyn Hutchinson’s diagnosis that Frei suffers from depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.

“She (Frei) was very clear on what had happened that day and why it happened,” Taylor said. “She was able to deliberate, premeditate and could form specific intent to kill.”

Frei also understood the nature and quality of her act and understood right from wrong, Taylor said.

Taylor, of Des Moines, was one of the prosecution’s rebuttal witnesses Tuesday to wrap up testimony in Frei’s first-degree murder trial in Scott County District Court. Closing arguments are scheduled for 9 a.m. Wednesday.

Frei is accused of beating to death Bailey with a rock and other objects July 19, 2009. Frei’s son Jacob Hilgendorf and friend Jessica Dayton, both 21, were convicted and are serving life sentences for their part in the crime.

Frei testified Monday she killed Bailey because he sexually, physically and verbally abused her and threatened to burn or kill her children if she left him. She had no other way out, except to end his life, she said.

Taylor said Frei remembered feeling rage when she beat Bailey and admitted to planning his death about week to two weeks ahead of time.

Assistant Attorney General Douglas Hammerand asked Taylor if Frei knew her actions were wrong.

Taylor said she understood, and it’s why she came up with a story about a drug deal gone bad.

“Why would she tell a cover story if she thought her actions were right,” Taylor said.

Taylor also said Frei couldn’t suffer from post-traumatic stress stemming from childhood sexual abuse, more than 30 years ago, as Hutchinson indicated.

“Someone could experience post-traumatic stress from being sexually abused as a child but not all those years later,” Taylor said. “She didn’t have symptoms of it.”

A nurse practitioner from University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics and a physician’s assistant from Belle Plaine Family Clinic also testified Frei had no injuries or signs of physical or sexual abuse.

Alex Bailey, 16, of Marengo, Curtis Bailey’s son, was the last witness of the day. He lived with his mother but spent every Wednesday and weekends with his father and Frei.

Alex said he slept in an upstairs bedroom, across the hall from the room his father and Frei shared. He said his father and Frei argued sometimes but he never overheard anything that sounded abusive.

Hammerand asked Alex if Hilgendorf, when he lived there, was ever banned from eating with the family, as Frei said Bailey had done. Alex said no. If Hilgendorf stayed in his room, it was his choice.

Frei says she killed her boyfriend to keep her children safe

Denise Frei faces a first-degree murder charge in the death of Curtis Bailey

DAVENPORT – Denise Frei admitted Monday she had a specific intent to kill her live-in boyfriend Curtis Bailey in 2009, and she acknowledged it was wrong, but she repeatedly claimed it was the only way to keep herself and her family safe.

Frei, 45, of Marengo, at times tearing up and blowing her nose, said she had endured sexual, physical and verbal abuse by Bailey, 33, of Marengo, for the six years they had been together. But she couldn’t leave him for fear of what he would do to her family, she said.

He threatened to burn her youngest son, Jacob Hilgendorf, she said.

“He said it wasn’t a threat but a promise, Frei said.

The defense continues its case 9 a.m. Tuesday in Frei’s first-degree murder trial in Scott County District Court. She is accused of beating to death Bailey, along with her son Hilgendorf and his friend Jessica Dayton, July 19, 2009.

Bailey died from blunt force injuries to his head, according to last week’s testimony. He was hit in the head between 11 and 30 times.

Hilgendorf and Dayton, both 21, were both convicted and are serving life sentences for their part in the crime.

Frei said she got together with Bailey in 2003 when both of them were married to different partners. At first, she said Bailey was charming and loving.

But he didn’t get along with her three sons and eventually banned them from their home. He kicked out Hilgendorf when he was 16. She went along with him because he “terrified” her, she said.

Frei at times teared up and claimed Bailey forced her to have sexual relations against her will and pushed her around, but it was the threats to her family that pushed her into killing him. She never told anyone because Bailey told her a “piece of paper (restraining order) wouldn’t stop a bullet.”

Assistant Attorney General Douglas Hammerand went over Frei’s previous attempts to kill Bailey that she told police. She tried to kill him by overdose twice and once by injecting him with insulin. All three times he just got sick.

He said she chose things that couldn’t be detected, so she could get away with it, just like when she finally killed Bailey in 2009. Her plan was to suffocate him with plastic wrap.

Frei agreed but said she was trying to do things that would be “humane.”

Frei admitted to a scheme of getting Bailey drunk by playing a sex game. He had to take a shot of vodka for every sex act she and Dayton performed together. Frei said it wasn’t a threesome. Bailey wasn’t to touch Dayton.

Frei said Bailey passed out and then Dayton texted Hilgendorf to come over. She and Dayton started wrapping him up in plastic and she kissed Bailey before she put the wrap over his face.

“You’re specific intent was to kill him?” Hammerand said.

“Yes,” Frei said.

Hammerand said the plan went awry when Bailey awoke, started fighting, and she and Dayton grabbed the rock and hit him in the head.

Frei said they hit him an estimated 30 times in the head.

Hammerand asked if she thought 30 times are unreasonable.

Frei said “it didn’t seem to be working.” She finally admitted 30 times was unreasonable.

Frei said she initially lied to police about two drug dealers who assaulted Bailey because she knew they wouldn’t believe her about the abuse. She had no proof, she said.

Frei said she told the truth in the second interview when she discovered police knew her son was involved.

Hammerand repeatedly asked why she never reported abuse to police or called the domestic abuse hotline. Frei said she was scared and she didn’t think the police would believe her.

Marilyn Hutchinson, a psychologist and therapist from Wichita, Kans., testified Frei was a battered woman. She suffers from post-traumatic stress as a survivor of childhood sexual abuse, suffers from major depression and possibly an anxiety disorder and personality disorder.

Frei was sexually molested by her brother as a child and two cousins and a farm hand as a teenager, and was physically abused by her parents, Hutchinson said. She has the characteristics of a battered woman – low self-esteem, depression, feeling of guilt and shame.

“Over time, they think it’s their fault,” Hutchinson said. “They mostly try to comply, hide it from others and do their best to do what he wants.”

Hutchinson said Frei’s profile was consistent with a battered woman. Frei stayed with Bailey because she loved him and because she was scared for her family.

Hammerand asked Hutchinson if Frei understood the nature and quality of her act and if she had the mental capacity to know killing Bailey was wrong.

Hutchinson said yes to both.

The defense would have to prove Frei didn’t understand the nature and quality of her act and couldn’t distinguish right from wrong to meet the standard for insanity in the state of Iowa.

Hammerand also asked Hutchinson if she ever saw any medical records regarding Frei’s sexual or physical abuse.

Hutchinson said no.

Rebuttal witnesses of the prosecution will take the stand Tuesday and closings are expected on Wednesday.

Witnesses remember Marengo murder victim as ‘hot-head’

Woman accused in 2009 death of live-in boyfriend in Marengo

UPDATE: Defense witnesses in the Denise Frei murder trial on Friday testified about encounters with victim Curtis Bailey, who they said was a “hot-head.”

The witnesses also noted, however, that most of their encounters with Baileyhappened four to 13 years ago.

Frei, 45, charged with first-degree murder, is claiming self-defense and insanity for her part in the brutal beating death of Bailey, 33, of Marengo, July 19, 2009. She and her co-conspirators are accused of beating him to death with a rock and other items in his home.

Frei’s son Jacob Hilgendorf, and his friend, Jessica Dayton, both 21 and of Belle Plaine, were both convicted of first-degree murder in the case.

The trial adjourned early Friday because the next witness for the defense wasn’t scheduled until Monday. The prosecution wrapped up its case Thursday, earlier than expected.

The trial resumes at 9 a.m. Monday in Scott County District Court. Reporter Trish Mehaffey will resume her live coverage from the courtroom at that time.

Frei’s defense is that she was physically, verbally and sexually abused by Bailey for years. According to testimony this week, she admitted to police that she felt killing him was her only way out of the abuse.

Tim Mangold, of Marengo, testified Friday about an incident in 2004 where Bailey threw a beer bottle at a truck because the owner was at Bailey’s then-estranged wife Michelle Geary’s home. Geary had a no-contact order against Bailey at the time, stemming from a domestic abuse incident.

Mangold said Bailey was just “mouthing off” to him and it didn’t turn physical. He admitted he didn’t have any serious problems with Bailey, other than that incident and perhaps another a year later, but it was minor and he didn’t remember anything about it.

Ronald Waggoner of Vinton, a carpenter, testified he had a run-in with Bailey in 1997 or 1998 over his mother’s roofing job. He was working across the street from Bailey’s home at the time and Bailey yelled at him from across the street, saying he “screwed up” the roof job.

Waggoner said he would take care of it but then Bailey went inside and came back out with an aluminum baseball bat. Waggoner told him if he came across the street he would take the bat and hurt him. Police showed up and Bailey backed down, he said.

On cross examination, Assistant Iowa County Attorney Lou McMeen asked Waggoner if Bailey was upset because he asked for additional money to fix the roof.

Waggoner said they discussed it.

McMeen asked if he ever swung the bat at Waggoner and he said no.

Colleen Standerson, a former cook’s assistant at Bailey’s Lincoln Café in Belle Plaine in 2007, said Bailey used to raise his voice to employees and Frei, but she never saw him angry.

Marengo woman admits she planned to kill her boyfriend with plastic wrap

DAVENPORT – Denise Frei broke down in her second interview with police and admitted a “game plan” to kill her boyfriend Curtis Bailey in 2009 because she couldn’t take his physical, verbal and sexual abuse anymore.

Frei, crying and even sobbing at times during a police interview played Thursday in her first-degree murder trial, said she came up with the “perfect plan” to suffocate him with plastic wrap because it wouldn’t leave ligature marks.

Frei, 45, of Marengo, is the third conspirator charged in the beating death of Curtis Bailey, 33, of Marengo, July 19, 2009. He was beaten with a rock and other items in his home. Frei’s son Jacob Hilgendorf, and his friend, Jessica Dayton, both 21 of Belle Plaine, were both convicted of first-degree murder in the case.

The defense continues its case 9 a.m. Friday in Scott County District Court. Frei is claiming insanity and self-defense.

Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation Special Agent Bill Kietzman said Frei asked to be interviewed a second time after police questioned her son, Hilgendorf. She told investigators her son didn’t do it and Dayton was “just along for the ride.” She was the person responsible for Bailey’s murder.

Frei, in the audiotaped interview played for the jurors, said she felt like she had no other choice but to kill Bailey, who was abusive to her for years.

“It was supposed to be simple,” Frei said. “I was going to wrap it (plastic wrap) around him while he was passed out. He woke up and started fighting. We had gone too far and couldn’t stop. It’s my kid protecting me. They’re not to blame.”

Frei said she and Hilgendorf wrapped his wrists with the plastic wrap but when she tried to put it over his face he awoke. They had attempted to get him drunk. She then took a rock and hit him in the temple, just trying to knock him out but it didn’t work.

Later in the interview, she said Dayton hit him with the rock. An ashtray was also used to beat him.

“It was too late,” she said. “He would have killed us. I know it was wrong. I shouldn’t have taken a person’s life.”

Frei rambled at times throughout the interview. Kietzman let her talk as much as she wanted before asking her to explain some things. In between confessing to the murder, she told stories of how Bailey abused her and threatened to kill and burn Hilgendorf and the rest of her family. She said Bailey was controlling and jealous.

Frei said Bailey was hit about 30 times until he was dead and Kietzman told her she couldn’t have done that all by herself.

“No, but he (Hilgendorf) was only helping me,” Frei said.

A former state medical examiner in earlier testimony said Bailey suffered 11 to 30 blows to his head. He died of multiple blunt force injuries to his head.

Frei repeatedly said she was responsible, not Hilgendorf and Dayton. She repeatedly asked what Hilgendorf told them and said he had a learning disability and should “shut up.”

She also told investigators about attempting to kill Bailey before, one time by crushing up morphine in his food and another time giving him two syringes of insulin. Both times he just became ill.

Maleca Hawkins, of East Moline, who shared a pod area in the Iowa County Jail with Frei while serving a 90 day sentence for driving while barred, testified Frei told her about the plan to kill Bailey. Frei said she hit Bailey in the head with a rock.

Hawkins said she wasn’t friends with Frei and didn’t like her much because she had no remorse for killing someone.

Hawkins said Frei told her she was the beneficiary of Bailey’s $100,000 life insurance policy which could be used to pay off a $70,000 debt they had at Bailey’s Lincoln Café in Belle Plaine, which she operated.

An insurance claims consultant from Galveston, Texas, testified earlier that Frei was the beneficiary on Bailey’s policy.

Michelle Geary, Bailey’s ex-wife, testifying for the defense, said Bailey left her for Frei, who she didn’t like. She admitted her relationship with Bailey was volatile but they both got violent with each other.

Geary said Bailey had given her some bruises a few times and they had numerous fights over their 10 years together. At one point in their marriage, he threw her across the room and she had a no contact order against him, which he broke a few times.

Kjas Long, Frei’s attorney, asked Geary if chasing someone with a baseball bat was typical behavior for Bailey.

Geary said it depended on what the person said or did to Bailey.

Rodney Waldrop, of Marengo, Bailey’s life-long friend, testified Bailey tried to hire him July 4, 2009 to beat up Hilgendorf for $500 and said he would give him another $500 if he would burn him. Waldrop, at first, thought he was joking but realized he wasn’t and refused to do it.

Waldrop later said Bailey was more talk than action. He claimed to be tough and more violent but he never saw Bailey in a physical fight.

The state rested after Frei’s confession was played. Defense testimony will go into next week.

Join Reporter Trish Mehaffey’s live blog from the courtroom. Viewers can follow along, ask questions and provide comments.

Woman, son confess to role in Marengo man's death

Desmoinesregister.com

Associated Press

August 26, 2009

Marengo, Ia. — According to search warrants returned in Iowa County District Court, Curtis Bailey's common-law wife and her son confessed to taking part in the struggle that killed the Marengo man.

But Denise Leone Frei, 43, of Marengo and her son, Jacob Scott Hilgendorf, 19, of Belle Plaine, said their co-defendant, Jessica Ann Dayton, 19, also of Belle Plaine, is the one who hit Bailey on the head, causing his death. Dayton has not confessed to any role in the murder.

Iowa County deputies found Bailey, 33, dead at his home on July 19. The preliminary cause of death was given as blunt-force trauma to the back of his head.

All three defendants have pleaded not guilty of first-degree murder.

Search warrants reveal details of Marengo murder

By Nick Narigon - Showcase.netins.net

August 26, 2009

Search warrants returned to the Iowa County District Court reveal more details in the slaying of Curtis Bailey, 33, Marengo.

According to the search warrants, Jacob Hilgendorf, who turned 20 Tuesday, Aug. 25, and his mother, Denise Frei, who turns 44 Friday, Aug. 28, both confessed to killing Bailey in his Marengo home Sunday, July 19.

Jessica Dayton, 19, Belle Plaine, was implicated as taking an active part in the killing.

The search warrants, signed by investigators with the Marengo Police Department, the Iowa County Sheriff’s Office and the Iowa Department of Criminal Investigation, consist of police allegations that have not been proven in court.

The night of Sunday, July 19

According to the search warrants, at 1:50 a.m. Sunday, July 19, officers from the Marengo Police Department and the Iowa County Sheriff’s Office were called to 220 W. Main St., Marengo, for an unresponsive male who had reportedly been assaulted. It was determined that Curtis C. Bailey was the victim of a homicide.

Frei, Bailey’s live-in girlfriend, said she found Bailey downstairs and she was the one who called 911.

Bailey’s preliminary cause of death is blunt force trauma to the back of the head. Deputies observed that Bailey’s skull had been crushed on the left side.

According to Frei, some individuals came to the residence just prior to the incident to make a drug deal with Bailey.

Frei also told officers Hilgendorf and Dayton had been at the residence sometime prior to the homicide. They became possible suspects.

Hilgendorf initially told investigators Dayton was at the residence approximately one hour prior to when the murder was discovered and reported. Hilgendorf came to the residence during that time and picked up Dayton.

Confession

During the ensuing investigation, both Frei and Hilgendorf confessed to the murder of Bailey. Frei said Dayton was at the residence at the time of the murder, and that Dayton was involved.

According to Frei’s account, a struggle occurred in the residence. Frei stated that she, along with Hilgendorf and Dayton, participated in the assault and subsequent murder of Bailey.

Hilgendorf also confessed to Bailey’s murder and implicated Frei and Dayton as being active participants in this murder.

Frei stated to the investigators that Dayton assisted in trying to wrap Bailey’s head with Saran wrap and had also struck Bailey in the head with an object during the struggle.

Frei also stated Bailey bit Hilgendorf on the thigh during the struggle.

Prior attempt

During an interview with investigators Frei admitted she had stolen a mechanical injector and later injected Bailey with insulin using syringes in a previous attempt to kill him on the night of July 3, but was unsuccessful. She stated one of the syringes was still in the house in a drawer. Investigators saw the syringe in a drawer in the residence.

Concealing evidence

According to the search warrants, after the July 19 murder, Hilgendorf and Dayton left the residence in Hilgendorf’s black 1994 Ford Explorer and went to Denise Templeton’s residence north of Amana.

They parked the Explorer in Templeton’s garage.

When they left the murder scene they took several items of evidence with them in an attempt to conceal the crime, including one of the murder weapons.

That evidence was recovered in a search warrant.

Bloody clothing, bloody shoes and bloody plastic wrap were amongst the evidence that are believed to belong to Hilgendorf.

Hilgendorf changed clothes at Templeton’s.

Investigators have not been able to locate Hilgendorf’s clothing at Templeton’s residence where he described they would find it.

The search

Hilgendorf and Dayton drove a 2001 Plymouth Neon belonging to Templeton to the sheriff’s office at approximately 8 a.m. Sunday, July 19, to be interviewed.

Dayton initially told investigators that she had been sleeping at Templeton’s and they came to the sheriff’s office when they heard what had happened.

Hilgendorf refused to give investigators consent to search his Explorer because of some possible drug paraphernalia contained inside.

After being interviewed, Dayton left the sheriff’s office at approximately 12 p.m. to go to Belle Plaine and get her medication. During this time period she also made a call to Templeton and told her not to let the police search the Explorer that Hilgendorf had parked in her garage or “they would all go to prison for a long time.”

Police were at Templeton’s residence at the time of the phone call and overheard the conversation.

The investigators looked into Hilgendorf’s vehicle from the outside without touching the vehicle and in plain view observed a glove that appeared to have blood on it, an object wrapped in a towel near the console area and a dark colored bag in the back.

Hilgendorf has stated that a rock is within the vehicle that was used against the victim.

After receiving a search warrant for the Explorer, investigators seized plastic wrap, a rock, rubber gloves, a BB gun, a pair of shoes, a piece of drift wood, fragments of a glass candy jar and PVC pipe.

Dayton came back to the sheriff’s office voluntarily a couple of hours later for a second interview. She left in the Neon, and was driving the Neon when she returned to the sheriff’s office. While she was in Belle Plaine, Dayton was observed driving a red 2003 Hyundai Tiburon that was registered to her.

She was also wearing a different set of clothing from what she had the first time she was interviewed.

Dayton’s clothing and shoes she was wearing when she helped commit the murder have not been recovered.

While conducting a search warrant at Bailey’s home, investigators seized six bags of pills, two metal boxes containing a small amount of marijuana, three baggies of marijuana and marijuana paraphernalia. They also seized glass fragments, a candy dish, an ashtray fragment and a PVC elbow all from the living room. Officers also took two socks from outside the house.

All three suspects were arrested and charged with first-degree murder. They are currently being held at the Iowa County Jail.

Frei and Dayton both stand trial Monday, Sept. 28, in Iowa County District Court. Hilgendorf is scheduled to appear in Iowa County District Court Oct. 12.