Marengo murder suspect's trial won't be moved, judge rules

The first-degree murder trial of Jessica Dayton, 19, accused of killing her boss in Marengo, will not be moved out of Iowa County, 6th Judicial District Judge Denver Dillard ruled Wednesday.

Dayton, charged with first-degree murder, is accused of killing Curtis Bailey, 33, of Marengo, last July. Bailey owned a Belle Plaine cafe, where Dayton worked as a server. Bailey died from blunt force trauma to the back of his head, according to an autopsy. Dayton's trial is set for April 19.

Dillard said there is no substantial evidence to move the trial. He reviewed the 71 juror questionnaires and found 49 jurors said they could be fair and impartial while 22 had made a judgment or were unsure.

Dillard offered to send out more questionnaires just to ensure a panel of 36 is available. Both attorneys agreed to more questionnaires.

Doug Eichholz, Dayton's attorney, submitted a packet of newspaper and online articles from area media. Eichholz said the pretrial publicity was excessive, basing his argument on the 111 first round questionnaires that found 70 percent believed she was guilty.

“The (media) coverage is appropriate for murder trial. Didn't seem excessive,” Dillard said.

Dillard said in the second round the prospective jurors were more impartial and they seemed more complete. “We should be able to call a panel of 36,” he said.

If there was any prejudice it was probably more towards Dayton's co-defendants in this case, Dillard said.

Bailey's common-law wife Denise Frei, 42, of Marengo, and her son, Jacob Hilgendorf, 19, of Belle Plaine, are also charged with first-degree murder. Their trial is set for May 17.