Prosecutors have charged Bailey Boswell with first-degree murder and have said in a Saline County filing that they intended to seek the death penalty for her. In August her attorney filed the legal challenge, saying the state’s sentencing procedure in death penalty cases is unconstitutional.
Judge Vicky Johnson said in a ruling issued Tuesday that Boswell’s challenge was premature, because Boswell has not yet been convicted nor has her case been deemed eligible for the death penalty.
Prosecutors say Boswell and Aubrey Trail strangled Sydney Loofe and Boswell helped Trail cut up Loofe’s body and stuff the remains into trash bags. The remains were found Dec. 4 in Clay County, weeks after Loofe was reported missing.