On Monday, November 13, 2023, Mary Josephine Bailey was taken into custody by police in Apache Junction, Arizona. She was charged with the 1985 murder of Yvonne Menke in Polk County, Wisconsin. Menke was shot in her apartment stairwell. It has taken 37 years for an arrest to be made in the case.
Bailey will be transported at some point to Wisconsin but it is not known when that will happen. She has not yet entered a plea or obtained legal representation. This is still considered an ongoing investigation.
Menke was 45 at the time of her death, and was the mother of four children. She had reportedly received a threatening phone call the day before her murder. She was killed on December 12, 1985, in St. Croix Falls, Wisconsin.
Menke’s daughter Julie, who was 20 years old at the time, was not surprised by her mother's death, according to KARE 11. She told Police Officer Mike Severson: "I knew this was going to happen.” One can only imagine the grief she continues to experience.
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Bailey was a suspect in this case from the beginning. It is believed the motive behind the murder was a disagreement over a man. The women were reportedly both dating the same gentleman and he ultimately chose Menke. Officers found prints from Arctic Cat snow boots at the scene of the crime. They asked Bailey to turn over all the boots she owned.
"Mary Jo showed them some footwear that she had within her residence. When asked if she had any other boots, Mary Jo stated she did. Mary Jo opened a door and retrieved a pair of Arctic Cat snowmobile boots, size 5," stated the criminal complaint. "Mary Jo gave officers permission to seize the boots."
The labs tested the boots, proving they were the same ones that left prints at the scene of the crime. The evidence against Bailey did not stop there. She also owned a .22 caliber pistol, which was the same kind of gun used to kill Menke.
This was not enough to arrest Bailey but that does not mean the Polk County sheriff gave up on the case. After it went cold, it was reopened many times and between 2021 and 2023 several new interviews were conducted. One witness stated that Bailey was upset the night before the murder and another confessed Bailey asked them to burn clothes.
Bailey did not show emotion when being taken into custody. She continued to be stoic even after being informed about her murder charges. "Mary Jo did not respond and continued to sit at the table without any emotional or verbal response," the complaint stated.
Polk County Sheriff Brent Waak declined to comment on the case. "I am not commenting at this time as this is an ongoing investigation,” he stated via an email to Inside Edition.