Aubrey Trail’s Appeal is Denied

The Nebraska Supreme Court has upheld the homicide conviction of Aubrey Trail, age 56, who was sentenced to death for his role in the murder of Sydney Loofe.Attorneys for Aubrey Trail argued that his client should have been granted a mistrial after he attempted to cut his own throat during his trial, in front of the jury.Trail was convicted on July 10, 2019, in Saline County District Court of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder in the death of Sydney Loofe. He pleaded guilty to a count of improper disposal of human remains but, during the course of the trial, maintained that Loofe's death was an accident. The jury of six men and six women deliberated for three hours before reaching a verdict.Trail was sentenced to death on June 9, 2021. While Trail indicated he did not wish to appeal his sentence, an appeal is automatic in Nebraska for death penalty cases.His codefendant, Bailey Boswell, was also convicted for her involvement in the murder and sentenced to life in prison.Trail was represented by attorneys Benjamin Murray and Joseph Murray of Murray Law, P.C., L.L.O., in Hebron. It was Ben Murray who spoke in front of the Nebraska Supreme Court the morning of Thursday, September 2, 2022.At one point during the trial, the defendant stood up, shouted, “Bailey is innocent, and I curse you all,” while court was in session and then cut his own throat with what Murray said was a razor blade.It was this incident that Murray said should have resulted in an automatic mistrial, “We believe Mr. Trail was denied a fair trial.”Of death penalty cases, Murray said, “These are the most important cases. This is where due process and equal protection are the most important and we would ask that the case be remanded for a new trial.”James D. Smith, Senior Assistant Nebraska Attorney General, disagreed, “The defendant doesn't get rewarded for bad behavior.”The Supreme Court agreed and noted in its decision, “As with these other defendants, we will not permit Trail to benefit from his own bad behavior during the trial.”

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