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Mary Josephine Bailey was convicted of first-degree murder on May 30, 2024, in the 1985 shooting of Yvonne Menke in St. Croix Falls, Wisconsin. Bailey, 81 at trial, was tried in May 2024 in Polk County Circuit Court in Balsam Lake before St. Croix County Judge Scott J. Nordstrand. Prosecutors argued Menke had given a man both women dated an ultimatum to be with her exclusively or not at all, putting Bailey "over the edge." The defense argued the state lacked evidence, including DNA, and called the case "built on rumor and innuendo." After eight days of testimony and arguments, jurors deliberated for just over two hours.

Nordstrand sentenced Bailey to life in prison on July 2, 2024. Under the law in effect in 1985, she is eligible for parole after 20 years, with 232 days of credit applied. The judge said he had no discretion over parole eligibility and otherwise a number that came to mind would be 38 years. Bailey declined to make a statement. Her lawyer said there would be an appeal. No ruling on an appeal has been reported.

Bailey, formerly Mary Jo Lunsmann, was 80 and living in Apache Junction, Arizona, when arrested in November 2023. Menke was 45 and lived in an apartment complex in St. Croix Falls, Polk County, Wisconsin. Investigators described a love triangle involving a man who had dated both women at the same time over a number of years. He told police the day after the killing that he was dating Bailey. He died in October 2021 and was never charged; Bailey was the only person charged.

Menke was shot three times in the head and neck shortly before 6:30 a.m. on December 12, 1985, in her apartment complex stairwell as she left for work. A person of interest, described as a woman wearing a gray three-quarter-length coat and dark stocking cap, was seen fleeing the alley where Menke's car was parked. Police found a footprint in snow near the body with "Arctic" visible and the same boot prints about a block away. The day before, an unidentified woman had called the Menke home and asked what time Menke would be at work.

Police interviewed Bailey at home in the days after the shooting. She said she was on vacation on December 12 and had planned to shop in Rice Lake. She denied ever meeting Menke or speaking with her face to face, but admitted calling once about the man. Phone records showed four calls of about a minute each between the homes in the preceding months. Officers found size 5 Arctic Cat snowmobile boots at Bailey's home, although she said she wore size 4. The state crime lab found them consistent in tread pattern, size and wear pattern with the scene prints. In 2009, her boots, two jackets and a hat underwent further testing; no blood was detected. No charge followed for decades.

Investigators began re-interviewing witnesses in late 2021 and early 2022. In December 2022, a friend of Bailey's said something had bothered her for years: about a year after the killing, a man Bailey had dated told her Bailey had him burn some clothes. Asked about it, he said he did not recall.

Polk County investigators questioned Bailey again in Maricopa County, Arizona, in a recorded interview that reports on the charges date to January 26, 2023. She again denied involvement. Questions opened with the man's family and her telephone contact with Menke before the killing. Near the end, investigators suggested she get a lawyer who could contact the district attorney's office. A deputy explained a judge's order for a cheek swab, fingerprints and photographs; her DNA, fingerprints and photograph were taken that month. Bailey was arrested at home on November 13, 2023, charged with first-degree murder and later extradited to Wisconsin.