It took nearly 40 years to be arrested for a cold-case murder. Now, she won’t be free until she’s at least 100

Mary Jo Bailey shot dead mom Yvonne Menke in ‘cold blood’ after discovering she was in a love triangle

Mary Jo Bailey, 81, was sentenced for the 1985 murder of Yvonne Carol Menke on Tuesday (Polk County Sheriff’s Department)

An 81-year-old woman has been sentenced to life in prison for the “cold-blooded” murder of her romantic rival almost four decades ago – and says she can finally “retire and not worry about it.”

According to court documents, Mary Jo Bailey of Polk County, Wisconsin, had unwittingly been involved in a “love triangle” for years. While dating Bailey – who formerly had the surname Lunsmann – boyfriend Jack Owen also courted Yvonne Carol Menke, a 45-year-old mother-of-four.

Warming her car up before work in the frosty, early hours of December 12, 1985, Menke was shot dead after sustaining three gunshot wounds – one in the neck and two in the back of the skull. One of Menke’s daughters spotted the shooter quickly fleeing the scene.

Nearly 40 years later, Bailey was found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to life imprisonment at the Polk County Courthouse on Tuesday. The pensioner was, however, granted the possibility of parole in just over 19 years due to an archaic state law from the date the murder took place.

“I think it needs to be said how brutal and how horrific this crime was. And cold-blooded,” Judge Scott Nordstrand who presided over the case said.

Yvonne Menke was murdered in December 1985 by a romantic rival, Mary Jo Bailey (Polk County Circuit Court)

“Other than her lack of denial, Ms Bailey has not admitted what she did, she has not taken accountability for her actions, she has shown no remorse,” he added.

The case sat cold until Lieutenant Andrew Vitalis of Polk County’s Sheriff’s Office and Mark Biller, liaison deputy at Polk County Investigations, began investigating the case in 2021 as a criminal complaint confirming the love triangle.

Evidence from the trial showed that Bailey’s boots closely matched the footprints left in the snow. A note was found in Menke’s purse with the perpetrator’s car information, the court heard.

Additionally, Menke’s family claimed that they received repeated phone calls from an anonymous woman who inquired about what time Menke left for work in the morning.

“Other than her lack of denial, Ms Bailey has not admitted what she did, she has not taken accountability for her actions, she has shown no remorse,” said assistant district attorney Holly Wood-Webster, as reported by the Osceola Sun.

After Bailey was convicted, Wood-Webster said that she told the bailiff she could “now retire and not worry about it.”

Three of Menke’s children provided statements before Bailey’s sentencing including Julie Connors, who was just 20 years old at the time of her mother’s death.

“You waited in a dark stairwell to maliciously murder my mom. You sentenced us to a life filled with pain, sadness, and hurt,” she said.