Nebraska man Aubrey Trail is on trial for the murder of 24-year-old Sydney Loofe, as he faces charges of murder in the first degree and criminal conspiracy to commit first-degree murder.
Trail and 25-year-old Bailey Boswell are on trial for the killing and dismemberment of Loofe, whose body parts were found in garbage bags in Clay County, Nebraska in December 2017. Loofe had been missing for 19 days after going on a Tinder date with Boswell.
Trail confessed that he killed Loofe to a KOLN/KGIN reporter in February 2018. His trial began on June 18, 2019.
On Monday, Trail’s trial took a dramatic turn as he took a razor blade to his own neck as a witness was about to take the stand, per KOLN/KGIN.
Here’s what you need to know:
Trail Shouted “Bailey Is Innocent and I Curse You All,” Prior to Cutting His Own Throat
Saline County Sheriffs Office Bailey Boswell and Aubrey Trail
Just moments before stabbing his own throat, Trail yelled to the entire courtroom, “Bailey is innocent and I curse you all!” Trail seemed to be referring to Bailey Boswell, the other person accused of killing Sydney Loofe.
Bailey, who was the one who lured Loofe on dates via Tinder, is also accused of murder as her trial begins in October.
According to KOLN/KGIN, Trail sustained injuries but none of them serious per his attorneys. They characterized Trail’s outburst as “unexpected.” Trail had to get stitches but is recovering from his self-inflicted wound in an unnamed hospital.
You can watch the shocking courtroom moments below:
In 2017, Trail & Bowers Released a Facebook Video Confessing Their Innocence
In a strange Facebook video prior to their arrests, Trail and Bowers released a now-deleted Facebook video confessing their innocence. The two recounted the events of the night Loofe disappeared.
“Hi, good morning. I’m Bailey, Audrey on Tinder and a few other names because I have warrants. But this isn’t really about me, it’s about Sydney, and I just kind of want to tell you what I already told the Lincoln police more than one time,” Boswell told the camera.
Boswell went by the name Audrey on Tinder at the time when she met Loofe. She went on to tell Facebook some of the things they did prior to Loofe’s disappearance.
“I met her on a Tuesday, we drove around Lincoln, smoked weed, had a great time, we hit it off. I dropped her off at home. Picked her up the next night at her house. We drove around smoked weed again,” Boswell said.
After the two indulged themselves, Bowers claimed she dropped Loofe off at one of her friend’s house, per Loofe’s request.
“I went to take her home, and she asked me to drop her off at a friend’s house, so I did so,” the woman said. “I gave her my number. We were planning to go to the casino that weekend. I haven’t heard from her since.”
Trail Said He & Bowers Have Been Crucified by the Media in the Facebook Video
Trail took most of his time on camera to slam the police and the media, claiming he is innocent until proven guilty.
“You’ve already crucified us in the newspapers, you’ve already crucified us on Facebook. You know, in America, I sure thought it was a trial first but I guess not,” Trail said.
Trail claimed that he and Boswell wrote long statements that encompassed everything they knew for Lincoln detectives.
“They’re telling you that they have all these leads …. What they’re not telling you is that we are the two people who gave them all these leads,” Trail said referring to the supposed information he and Boswell gave the police.
Trail goes on to claim him and Boswell run a $100,000 dollar antique business which they run through eBay. He also addressed his criminal record.
“You’ve heard all of this stuff about my criminal history: all true. Been convicted of bad checks and forgery and all that good stuff … but I guess I’m a person of interest now,” he told the camera.
The two conclude their mysterious video by sending a message directly to the police.
“They’re chasing us around like dogs,” Trail said. “I wish the family the best …. I wish Sydney the best. But as far as the police department, f*ck you.”
The two simultaneously hold their middle finger up in direct retaliation to law enforcement.
Trail Then Confessed to Local Media That the Murder Was a Sexual Fantasy Gone Wrong
Lincoln Police Department Sydney Loofe
In a phone conversation with KOLN/KGIN, Trail said Loofe’s killing was a sex game gone wrong.
“I killed Sydney Loofe and am fully responsible for her death,” Trail told the station from Leavenworth Detention Center in Kansas.
He also made sure to say that Boswell was not in the room when she found out Loofe was dead.
“When she was told what happened, she freaked out so badly she had to be sent out with a bag of weed to try and calm down,” Trail said.
He also told KOLN/KGIN that he turned his home into a place where people could live out their sexual fantasies.
“Our lives were full of lots of ladies,” Trail said. “Some traveled with us, worked for me, and there was lots of parties, travel, and sex.”
“Everyone received an allowance weekly,” Trail continued. “If someone wanted to make thousands of dollars, they could agree to let someone play out their fantasies with them. Fantasies paid from $500 to $10,000 cash.”
Trail Also Confessed to the Lincoln Journal Star
Trail also made a confession to Lincoln’s newspaper the Lincoln Journal Star. His confession rang a similar tone in his conversation with KOLN/KGIN, as he took sole responsibility for the death of Loofe.
“I am accountable. I physically am the one who caused the end of her life. Me and only me,” Trail said. “I don’t want a witch hunt for people who shouldn’t be witch-hunted.”
He claimed Loofe died due to the result of accidental asphyxiation. After being pushed on why him and Boswell didn’t contact officials after her death, he claimed the two didn’t live an “upstanding lifestyle.”
“We didn’t, I guess, live a fine, upstanding lifestyle,” he said. “Sydney Loofe should not have died. I deserve life (in prison) or death.”
Trail also said we would talk to the FBI about a similar case from years ago. He did not specify any details about that particular incident.
Trail’s trial is supposed to resume Tuesday morning, as Trail will be in handcuffs for the remainder of his proceedings.