Witnesses remember Marengo murder victim as 'hot-head'

UPDATE: Defense witnesses in the Denise Frei murder trial on Friday testified about encounters with victim Curtis Bailey, who they said was a "hot-head."

The witnesses also noted, however, that most of their encounters with Baileyhappened four to 13 years ago.

Frei, 45, charged with first-degree murder, is claiming self-defense and insanity for her part in the brutal beating death of Bailey, 33, of Marengo, July 19, 2009. She and her co-conspirators are accused of beating him to death with a rock and other items in his home.

Frei's son Jacob Hilgendorf, and his friend, Jessica Dayton, both 21 and of Belle Plaine, were both convicted of first-degree murder in the case.

The trial adjourned early Friday because the next witness for the defense wasn't scheduled until Monday. The prosecution wrapped up its case Thursday, earlier than expected.

The trial resumes at 9 a.m. Monday in Scott County District Court. Reporter Trish Mehaffey will resume her live coverage from the courtroom at that time.

Frei's defense is that she was physically, verbally and sexually abused by Bailey for years. According to testimony this week, she admitted to police that she felt killing him was her only way out of the abuse.

Tim Mangold, of Marengo, testified Friday about an incident in 2004 where Bailey threw a beer bottle at a truck because the owner was at Bailey's then-estranged wife Michelle Geary's home. Geary had a no-contact order against Bailey at the time, stemming from a domestic abuse incident.

Mangold said Bailey was just “mouthing off” to him and it didn't turn physical. He admitted he didn't have any serious problems with Bailey, other than that incident and perhaps another a year later, but it was minor and he didn't remember anything about it.

Ronald Waggoner of Vinton, a carpenter, testified he had a run-in with Bailey in 1997 or 1998 over his mother's roofing job. He was working across the street from Bailey's home at the time and Bailey yelled at him from across the street, saying he “screwed up” the roof job.

Waggoner said he would take care of it but then Bailey went inside and came back out with an aluminum baseball bat. Waggoner told him if he came across the street he would take the bat and hurt him. Police showed up and Bailey backed down, he said.

On cross examination, Assistant Iowa County Attorney Lou McMeen asked Waggoner if Bailey was upset because he asked for additional money to fix the roof.

Waggoner said they discussed it.

McMeen asked if he ever swung the bat at Waggoner and he said no.

Colleen Standerson, a former cook's assistant at Bailey's Lincoln Café in Belle Plaine in 2007, said Bailey used to raise his voice to employees and Frei, but she never saw him angry.

Replay the live coverage of Friday's testimony below: