Jury selection under way in Marengo woman's murder trial

UPDATE: Jury selection started this morning in the first-degree murder trial of Jessica Dayton, 19, of Belle Plaine, in Iowa County District Court.

Dayton is accused of killing her boss Curtis Bailey, 33, in his Marengo home, last summer. He was the owner of the Lincoln Café in Belle Plaine. Dayton was employed as a waitress at the cafe.

The jurors watched an orientation video and questioning by the attorneys and judge has started.

I can't tell you anything else at this point because the media hasn't been allowed inside because of space. As soon some of the jury pool is released, we can go in. It's the largest courtroom in the courthouse, but it's small. There were about 75 Iowa County residents in the pool, which filled up the courtroom.

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 in the case. Their trial is set for May 18.

This should be an interesting trial because Frei and Hilgendorf confessed to killing Bailey during a struggle, but said Dayton actually hit Bailey in the head with an unidentified object. Dayton didn't confess. I'm not sure what her defense is. Her attorney didn't take depositions and isn't sharing his witness list with the prosecutor or the media.

Frei's son told us a few days after the murder that his mother had been battered by Bailey for years. Frei filed her notice of intent to claim insanity as her defense.

Gazette reporter Trish Mehaffey will liveblog the trial as soon as testimony begins. Readers can ask her questions and provide comments during the blog.