Sighs of relief for family as Hilgendorf is found guilty of murder

DAVENPORT - Curtis Bailey's family and friends hugged and cried, and some let out big sighs of relief, as the judge read the guilty verdict for the 21-year-old man who killed him Wednesday in Scott County District Court.

Jacob Hilgendorf of Belle Plaine, convicted of first-degree murder, held his head down as he stood and heard that he will spend the rest of his life in prison for beating to death his mother's boyfriend on July 18, 2009.

The jury deliberated for about eight hours over two days to reach the first-degree murder verdict. The jurors were escorted out of the Scott County Courthouse after the verdict was delivered and didn't talk with the media about their deliberations.

Sentencing will be next month. A date wasn't set Wednesday.

Bailey's family didn't want to comment to the media but asked BJ Franklin, director of Horizons Survivors Program, to provide a written statement.

Franklin said Bailey's son Alex and other family members wanted to thank friends, the Division of Criminal Investigation, the Iowa County Sheriff's Office, the Iowa Attorney General's Office and survivors. They also thanked the jurors and 6th Judicial District Judge Denver Dillard.

“We feel justice has prevailed and we have one more trial to go and would like to work on developing a new normal for our families,” Franklin said.

First Assistant Iowa County Attorney Lew McMeen said he was “pleased with the outcome” and wanted to thank the Sheriff's Office, DCI and the Attorney General's Office. Assistant Attorney Douglas Hammerand prosecuted the case.

Hilgendorf's family and friends were not in the courtroom for the verdict.

He and his friend Jessica Dayton, 20, of Belle Plaine, have now both been convicted of first-degree murder as part of a conspiracy to kill Bailey, 33, of Marengo. Dayton is serving a life sentence in prison.

Denise Frei, 45, Hilgendorf's mother and Bailey's girlfriend, is also charged with first-degree murder in the case and will stand trial March 7 in Scott County.

Bailey was brutally beaten with a landscaping rock and possibly other items, according to testimony in both trials. Hilgendorf told police he beat Bailey until he stopped breathing. Bailey died from blunt force trauma injuries.

More trial coverage:

Jury selection begins today in Marengo murder trial