An attorney for the man accused of the premeditated murder of Sydney Loofe wants a judge to stop a landlord from selling or destroying the items left behind in a Wilber apartment, where Loofe was last seen alive, according to court documents.
Left behind in Aubrey Trail and Bailey Boswell’s basement apartment at 621 West Seventh St., were shackles, a lion rug, various elephant figurines and an assortment of stuffed animals that included 56 Beanie Babies, according to a notice made by the landlord.
The state has turned the apartment back over to the landlord, Alan Koll, who owns the home and rented the apartment to Trail.
Koll informed Trail on July 17 that he needed to claim his property by month’s end or pay the cost of storage, nearly $2,900, or it would be sold or destroyed, according to court records. Koll did not return a request for comment Wednesday night.
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That prompted Trail’s court-appointed attorneys to file motions Wednesday for a judge to give them time to inspect the apartment they believe is the alleged murder scene and order the preservation of the property for testing of possible evidence.
“Preservation of the scene and the evidence contained within it is vital and material to the defendant’s defense,†Ben Murray said in his motion.
According to investigators, Loofe went to the home while on a date with Boswell on Nov. 15.
The Lincoln woman’s family reported her missing the next day after she didn’t report to work at Menards.
Her dismembered remains were found in rural Clay County on Dec. 4.
Investigators believe Boswell and Trail bought items used in Loofe’s killing earlier Nov. 15, and that she died of homicidal violence.
They allege the 24-year-old was strangled overnight Nov. 15 using an electrical cord.
Trail has told investigators and news reporters Loofe's death was an accident.
The inventory includes clues to what investigators have focused on in the apartment, including the washer and dryer, which reportedly had parts removed by the FBI, and several empty picture frames from the master bedroom.
Most of the items described in the inventory are routine household items. However, some tell of the antique dealing Trail had conducted, including old Civil War memorabilia, old electric train parts, cast-iron toys, coin display holders and an 1853 Jewish bible, the inventory said.
Trail and Boswell’s antique dealings first gained notoriety following their arrests in late November as persons of interest in Loofe’s disappearance.
They have since been convicted of a fraudulent rare coin scheme that duped a Kansas couple out of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Both Trail and Boswell face charges of first-degree murder and unlawful disposal of human remains in Loofe's death.
The Nebraska Attorney General’s Office is seeking the death penalty in Trail’s prosecution. A decision on whether to seek the death penalty in Boswell’s case has not been made public.
Both remain at the Saline County jail without bond.
Boswell is set to be arraigned next month.