Utah Woman SHOCKS Court After Killing Parents

Have you been forced into entering this. plea here today? >> Uh, no, your honor. >> The Utah woman who gunned down her own. parents in cold blood and apparently. [music] said she would do it again, well, she has officially entered a. guilty plea, but the plea has an. interesting [music] aspect to it. We're. going to dig into this breaking news. with attorney Rich Shoenstein, who can. help break down [music] what we can. expect next. Welcome to Sidebar, presented by Law and Crime. I'm Jesse. Weber.

By the way, is this just not a true. example of how we cover all different. kinds of crime and legal stories here on. Sidebar? And look, not everybody has the. ability to do what we do here to try to. do a deep dive on these stories. And one. of the reasons that we can keep on doing. this is because of the amazing support. we get from our sponsor, Morgan and. Morgan. This is America's largest. personal injury law firm. is a firm with. over a thousand attorneys who have. recovered, get this, $25 billion for. more than 500,000 clients. In fact, in.

the past few months alone, a client in. Florida received $12 million when. insurance offered just $350,000. Out in. Pennsylvania, another client was awarded. $26 million. That is 40 times the. insurers's offer. And Morgan andorggan, they make it easy to fight for what you. deserve. You can start a claim from your. phone. So, if you're injured, you can. easily start a claim at. forthepeople.com/lcsidebar. You can click the link below or you can. scan the QR code on screen. 30-year-old Mia Bailey was expected to.

be in a St. George County, Utah. courtroom on Thursday for a status. hearing in a brutal double murder case. But when she got there, that is when the. public learned that actually she was. going to be entering a guilty plea. So. now she stares down a prison sentence. that is decades long. And when we first. told you about Bailey last year, this is. when she was taken into custody after an. overnight manhunt in Washington City, Utah. She had fled a horrific crime. scene at her family's home, which she.

herself had caused. Okay. She admitted. to police that she shot and killed both. of her parents, Joseph and Gail Bailey, and even tried to kill her brother, but. thankfully wasn't successful. Bailey. even reportedly told police, "I would do. it again. I hate them." Now, at the. time, the big part of this case, the one. that got a lot of news attention, was. the fact that Bailey had been in the. process of transitioning to a female. She had legally changed her assigned.

gender to female, changed her name to. Mia, and there was confusion surrounding. her appearance, the clothes she might be. wearing, what her hair might look like. So, that made the search for her even. more challenging, even more difficult. Now, we're going to dig into the. specific claims against Bailey, but. first, the big news here. Bailey pleaded. guilty in open court on November 6th. >> Miss Bailey, a plea agreement has been. reached between you and the state of. Utah. Have you been forced into entering. this plea here today?

>> Uh, no, your honor. So, as part of an. agreement with the state, Bailey pleaded. guilty to two counts of aggravated. murder and one count of aggravated. assault, as well as being mentally ill. at the time she committed the crime. So, pleading guilty and mentally ill, which. is an option in Utah. We're going to. talk about it. She had originally been. facing 11 felony counts and now this big. update. So, to help me break down the. latest details, I want to welcome back. on to Sidebar trial attorney Rich. Showenstein. Rich, so good to see you.

Thank you so much for taking the time. Okay. Talk to me about what your. understanding is here because Utah's a. little different, right? It's not like. the traditional insanity defense as. we've seen. When someone is pleading. guilty and mentally ill, what does that. mean? Well, Jesse, as I understand it, and I don't practice in Utah, so I can. only go by what I've read, it is a. guilty plea to a murder count. So it she. can be sentenced up to life imprisonment. without an opportunity for parole. But.

the within sanity can be considered by. the judge in issuing a sentence. It is. one of the factors that will be. considered and and that's what I think. this guilty plea is all about. It's all. about giving the judge a few things to. possibly determine that this person. could get out of prison someday. >> And it it's been about a year and a half. since the murders. And you know, it's.

been reported that these plea. negotiations were going on for quite. some time. We know that the legal. process can take months and months and. months and it's really particularly hard. on uh the victim's families uh and also. by the way defendants's families too. So. it can seem like you know it's taking. way too long to get some sort of re. resolution. But when you hear that back. and forth when you think about this case. does that timeline make sense to you? >> Yeah, I don't have a problem with that. timeline. I mean it is a complex case. I.

I know sometimes these things seem. really straightforward. I mean, she. essentially has admitted the crimes. They obviously got the right person. Why. can't we just get to a conviction and. move this on? But this case involved the. possibility of an insanity defense and. some other complicating issues. And so. it it had to move along at a certain. time. And I gather there were settlement. discussions. I don't know how long those. discussions have been going on between. the prosecutors and the defense, but.

that was going on in the background, too. That may have slowed things down. I. don't have a problem with the timeline. >> And it's not even the heinous nature of. the crime. It's what Bailey has been. saying that you can kind of get a sense. of why this might not be so shocking and. whether she will get some sort of. treatment as a result of this in. addition to prison time or whether there. is a uh she has to be committed to a. state hospital for a period of time. I. mean because she's facing 25 years to.

life without parole on each of those. murder charges and her uh sentence is. scheduled for uh December 19th. Now, the. prosecution had early announced that the. death penalty was not going to be not. going to be on the table for this case. Here's the part that I mentioned. Okay, according to local outlet KSL TV, Bailey. did something that I haven't seen. Okay, actually wrote a letter to the Utah. Supreme Court herself asking for that to.

be reversed. She apparently, Rich, wanted the death penalty and she wanted. to fire her attorney. What did you make. of that? Uh well, I I mean that's. troubling conduct by a defendant. Um you. know, somebody who wants to be. published, uh somebody who theoretically. wants to be put to death, uh that that. would concern me a lot in my own. determination about whether this person. is mentally fit for trial. So, I didn't. know exactly what to make of it.

>> Yeah. By the way, when somebody wants to. fire their attorney, generally speaking, how much does the court allow that? Right. because they do they have they're. entitled to an attorney but not a choice. of their attorney, right? How's that. work? >> Right? So, we see a lot of these cases. where people get courtapp appointed. attorneys and the relationship doesn't. work out for one reason or another. And. as a general matter, you're entitled to. counsel and you're also entitled to have. some choice in that process. You can't. be stuck with a lawyer that you.

fundamentally don't trust. And like the. first time you want to fire a lawyer, I. think for the most part you can do that. and they can appoint somebody else. But. sometimes we see in these cases there's. a second or a third or a fourth time and. eventually it becomes apparent that the. problem is not with the lawyers being. selected. The problem is not with the. relationship. The problem is. fundamentally with the client. And in. those circumstances, eventually a court.

will lose patience and say, you know, you're out of choices. You can have this. lawyer, you can find one on your own and. pay for it yourself, or you can. represent yourself. >> You know what happened though when you. hear something like this? The fifth. district judge, uh, Keith Barnes, immediately ordered a competency. evaluation. Again, not surprising. considering what we're talking about. And in early October, uh, Bailey's. attorney, Ryan Stout, told the court. that his client had, in fact, been found. competent to stand trial. Now, just to. be clear, we all know that's different. than insanity. It's just competency. Do.

you understand the charges? Can you. assist in your own defense? Do you know. what's going on? So, per uh KSL, he told. the court, quote, I think the evaluation. report does a good job of pointing out. the litany of mental health issues my. client has had over the years and. currently, but also does a good job of. going through and applying my client's. current status and ability to comprehend. the proceedings. Now, Rich, in this. case, it was the judge who ordered this. competency evaluation. Um, talk to me. about, you know, that seemed appropriate.

here. I guess I I guess it's a. determination by the court when they see. or even a determination or request by. the [clears throat] defense attorney. when they have to have a there's a. serious question of mental health. Right. >> Right. I I I think you know as as a. baseline issue the defendant has to be. competent as you said perfectly in. distinguishing between competency for. trial and uh and insanity. They have to. be able to participate in the defense. and understand the charges and a judge.

should have that assessed if the judge. has any question about it. And as we've. been discussing, some of her positions. and some of the things she was asking. for here did raise a genuine issue. And. I absolutely think that evaluation was. appropriate and I credit the judge for. ordering it. Good job. And get this, KSL. TV reports that at the very end of the. hearing, Bailey actually spoke up and.

asked the judge to hold a bail hearing. because she's been behind bars since her. arrest in June of 2024. There was no. possibility of release. She reportedly. told the court it was either to the. effect of, "I'd like to or I have to get. my surgery and meds fixed." Okay. Now, when her attorney told the judge that. he'd advise his client not to request a. bail hearing, that is when she then. tried to fire him again. The judge told. Bailey that right now couldn't order a. bail hearing at that moment. Uh, and.

according to KSL, he would add it to the. docket for November 6 when she was next. due in court for a status update, but as. we mentioned, instead she plead guilty. Something the prosecution, by the way, said the victims in this case were quote. on board with. Let's start there, Rich. How important is it to get the victim's. family or the victims themselves uh on. board with a guilty plea? Um because a. lot of times, you know, they would say, "I want to take this fully to trial, ultimate punishment, you know, have the.

day in court." Talk to me about that. >> So, it's not legally required. The. prosecutors can negotiate bail without. having the victims on board. We've seen. that happen before and we've seen cases. where there are different victims that. have different ideas about what should. be done and the prosecutors have to come. up with a conclusion. I think it's. important. I think the justice system. exists for the victims uh both to to. punish the wrongdoer but also to.

advocate on behalf of the victims. And I. always think the victims should be. consulted in the process, but they can't. drive, you know, they they can't insist on a. trial if there's nothing to be tried. I. mean, she is pleading guilty to the top. charges in this count. She is subject to. the top punishment that was being. sought. There really would be no reason. to have a trial.

uh you know, if the victims wanted to. make a public spectacle of it or to. inflict punishment on her by having it. be a trial, that's not really a good. enough reason. So, uh it sounds like. they were consultants. I view that as. important, but it can't control the. case. >> Now, this judge ordered a pre-sentence. investigation to be done uh before the. actual sentencing hearing. Why is that. important? What are they looking for in. a pre-sentencing investigation?

Well, the judges always consider a. variety of factors in issuing a. sentence. You know, one thing you want. to know is the background of the. defendant. Is there any criminal. history? What are the other factors in. their life that may have contributed to. this crime? What else is going on here? I'm sure the judge is going to consider. the medical circumstances that appear to. be an issue here. um the judge is going to want to, you. know, figure out if there's any possible.

future here and go through the process. of getting a report that puts all that. information together. That's you usually. get a pre-sencing report in any kind of. case like this. >> Yeah. And and by the way, while I have. you and as we're talking about this, I I. can't just glean over the crime, okay? I. I think it's very important because. that's going to be the subject of this, too. really understanding from the. victim's family members and the victim. and um you know what happened here. Um. so I want to go back and I want to talk. about how we got here and just the.

absolutely disturbing details that we. learned about Bailey's crime crimes uh. in the days after her rampage. So Bailey. was reportedly seen on neighborhood. cameras driving up to her parents home. in Washington city in her yellow Kia. Soul. Bailey didn't live at the house. and in fact there was a protective order. in place. This is according to KSL, but. the exact circumstances that led to that. protective order unclear. Seems like. there was issues with the family. But. when Bailey entered through an unlocked. door, her brother reportedly later told.

police that he could hear his parents. shouting at her to get out. Going to. this affidavit that was filed with the. court. It says, quote, "Mia admitted. that she entered the house and almost. immediately began shooting at her. mother, GB. Mia described firing. multiple shots at her mother. Multiple. spent casings were located inside the. home in the area near where JB's body. was located. Mia stated that her father. JB heard the shots and began walking. towards her. Mia stated that she shot. her father in the head and that he. immediately dropped to the ground. After.

going downstairs for a time, Mia came. back upstairs. Mia described that she. returned to her father who was lying on. the ground and shot him one more time in. the head to make sure that he was dead. While doing that, Mia heard her mother. making noises, walked back over to her. mother, and shot her in the head to make. sure that she was dead. Mia further. stated that she did not have remorse for. her actions and that she would not. change what she had done. Mia stated, "I. would do it again. I hate them." You.

know, Rich, aside from the fact that. this would have been an incredibly. difficult case to defend, um the the. cold and callous nature of this is. something that could very much work. against her in sentencing, but just just. a disgusting crime. >> Yeah, I think it will work against her. in sentencing. We we distinguish and the. law distinguishes between what we call. heat of passion murders where someone. suddenly snaps and kills someone often a. loved one with premeditated murder and.

this murder is premeditated. She came to. the house to commit a crime and then. once inside had a lot of opportunities. to stop, right? Shot them, could have. stopped and and not come back and shot. them again. So, it's premeditated at the. beginning. It has opportunities for her. to stop. She doesn't. There's the. attempted murder or assault of the.

brother, whatever you want to call that. And then there is this complete lack of. remorse. And not just lack of remorse. You think about a lot of defendants. aren't really remorseful. But saying, "I. would do it again. I hate them." That. that's the opposite of remorse, right? So that stuff is going to be very, very. difficult for her at sentencing. I don't. know if just adding this but mentally.

ill factor to the conviction is gonna. going to get her out of a life sentence. >> I I'll just tell you this much. This is. not a case of self-defense. This is not. a case of heat of passion when you're. hearing something like this. Just going. in and straight up shooting. But I'll. also tell you, and we've mentioned this. before, it wasn't just her parents that. Bailey targeted. Going back to the. affidavit, it reads, "After shooting. both GB and JB on the main floor of the. residence, Mia went downstairs to the. basement of the home. While downstairs,

Mia sought out her brother CB, who had. locked himself in his bedroom after. hearing an argument and gunshots. upstairs. Upon discovering the locked. door, Mia fired one round through the. door in the direction of her brother. The brother's door was observed to have. a hole consistent with a small caliber. round. Further, a suspected bullet hole. was observed in the wall inside of the. brother's room. Mia stated that her. brother was not her main target, but she. would not have been sad had the gunshot. killed him. Mia indicated that she knew.

her brother and his wife were in that. bedroom, but they were not the main. target. CB and his wife. AB both. described hearing banging on the bedroom. door and then a gunshot as they were. trying to flee the residence from a. downstairs window. I mean, it's a. miracle that they're alive. Um, but. Rich, you also get a sense of the. charges, why why she was charged with. what she was with respect to the. brother, but you also wonder if they're. going to provide some statements uh at. sentencing as well. >> Yeah, they they might you might they.

would have the opportunity to do that. presumably at a sentencing hearing or to. submit it in writing and they may want. to be heard on that. >> Yep. Uh the affidavit also included a. recommendation that the court not grant. Bailey bail. So, quote, "In her. interviews, Mia describes jumping fences. or walls, hiding in bushes, sleeping in. a park bathroom, and other efforts to. elude law enforcement. Mia bragged about. her ability to avoid the efforts of law. enforcement to locate her, including. evading officers, hiding from. helicopters, and hiding from drones.

When Mia was ultimately apprehended, she. was hiding in a prickly bush. Mia went. to great efforts to evade law. enforcement, and is a substantial flight. risk if released on bail. I mean, even. if she hadn't plead uh plead guilty, Rich. And today was supposed to be her. bail hearing, she wasn't going to get. it. >> No. Not in a million years was anyone. going to give her bail given the nature. of the crime and obviously a flight. risk. And you know, on some level, there's some level of mental unstability.

here. Whether you want to call it. incompetent or mentally ill, but there's. something going on there. You wouldn't. feel good about letting her on out on. bail. There was no way that was going to. happen. >> No. No. Well, look, I mean, this is. quite the update. It is quite the. development. Um, let's see how. sentencing goes. Uh, Rich Shenstein, thanks so much for taking the time. Appreciate it. Good to see you. >> Good to see you. >> And that's all we have for you right now. here on Sidebar. Everybody, thank you so. much for joining us. And as always, please subscribe [music] on YouTube,

Apple Podcast, Spotify, wherever you get. your podcast. You can follow me on X or. Instagram. I'm Jesse Weber. I'll speak. to you next time.