Case overview
Sydney Loofe, a 24-year-old hardware store clerk from Lincoln, Nebraska, disappeared in November 2017 after meeting a woman through Tinder. Her dismembered remains were found in garbage bags along rural roads three weeks later. Two people were charged with her murder, but only one was convicted of first-degree murder.
The timeline before she vanished
On November 14, 2017, Loofe told coworkers she had a date that evening. She had been messaging Bailey Boswell, 23, through Tinder. The two had met once before, on November 13, and Loofe agreed to see her again the following night.
Loofe clocked out of her shift at Menards in Lincoln around 4:00 p.m. She sent a Snapchat selfie later that evening showing her in a black shirt and choker necklace. The caption read, “Ready for my date.” That was the last anyone heard from her.
When Loofe failed to show up for work on November 15 and did not respond to calls or texts, friends and family reported her missing. Her apartment appeared undisturbed. Her car was still parked outside. Her phone went dark shortly after the final Snapchat.
The investigation turns to Bailey Boswell and Aubrey Trail
Investigators quickly identified Boswell as the last known contact. Boswell initially cooperated, telling police she and Loofe had spent the evening together but that Loofe left her apartment around 10:00 p.m. Boswell said she did not know what happened after that.
Detectives also learned that Boswell was living with Aubrey Trail, a 51-year-old man with a criminal history that included theft and bad checks. Trail and Boswell shared an apartment in Wilber, a small town about 40 miles southwest of Lincoln. Surveillance footage from a Home Depot showed Trail and Boswell purchasing tools, tarps, and hacksaw blades in the days after Loofe disappeared.
On November 30, Trail and Boswell were arrested in Branson, Missouri, on unrelated charges. By then, investigators had already begun searching rural Clay County for Loofe’s remains.
The discovery in garbage bags
On December 4, 2017, a passerby found black garbage bags along a gravel road near Edgar, Nebraska. Inside were human remains that had been dismembered and wrapped in plastic. DNA testing confirmed the remains belonged to Sydney Loofe.
Authorities recovered additional bags over the following days, scattered across multiple rural locations in Clay County. A forensic pathologist later determined that Loofe had been strangled. The condition of her remains made it difficult to establish an exact time of death, but investigators believed she was killed on or shortly after November 15.
Trail and Boswell were formally charged with first-degree murder in December 2017. Both pleaded not guilty.
Conflicting accounts and courtroom strategy
Trail’s defense centered on an unusual claim. During his trial in 2019, he admitted to killing Loofe but argued it was an accident during a consensual sexual encounter involving erotic asphyxiation. He said Boswell was not present when Loofe died and that he acted alone in dismembering and disposing of the body.
Prosecutors rejected that narrative. They presented evidence that Trail and Boswell had been planning to kill someone for weeks. Text messages recovered from Boswell’s phone included discussions about finding a victim. One message referenced needing to “get rid of” someone. Another mentioned watching videos about how to cover up a crime.
Trail interrupted his own trial multiple times. At one point, he slashed his throat in the courtroom with a razor he had hidden. He survived and the trial continued. In July 2019, a jury convicted Trail of first-degree murder. He was sentenced to death.
Boswell’s trial took place the following year. Prosecutors argued that she had lured Loofe to the apartment as part of a premeditated plan. They pointed to the Tinder messages, the shopping trips for disposal materials, and testimony from witnesses who said Boswell had spoken about wanting to kill before.
Boswell’s defense team argued that Trail had manipulated and controlled her. They described a relationship in which Trail exerted psychological dominance and coerced Boswell into participating in criminal activity. Boswell testified that she was afraid of Trail and did not know he intended to kill Loofe.
The jury was not persuaded. In October 2020, Boswell was convicted of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and improper disposal of human remains. She was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
The evidence that shaped the outcome
The case against both defendants relied heavily on digital records. Investigators recovered thousands of text messages, internet searches, and social media exchanges. Among the most significant were searches on Trail’s phone for terms like “how to kidnap” and “how long does DNA last.”
Boswell’s phone contained searches for rural roads in Clay County and conversations with Trail about acquiring cleaning supplies and tools. Surveillance footage placed both defendants at multiple stores in the days surrounding Loofe’s disappearance, purchasing items consistent with the cleanup and disposal of a body.
Witnesses testified that Trail had spoken about fantasies involving witchcraft, immortality, and taking the life force of others. One former associate said Trail believed he could gain power by killing young women. Another said Boswell had expressed interest in participating in such acts.
Trail’s assertion that Loofe’s death was accidental was undermined by the evidence of planning, the purchase of disposal materials before her disappearance, and the deliberate concealment of her remains across multiple locations.
What remains unresolved
Despite the convictions, questions persist about the precise sequence of events on the night Loofe was killed. Trail’s account placed him alone with Loofe at the time of her death, but prosecutors argued Boswell was complicit throughout. The exact roles each played, and whether Loofe was aware of any danger before it was too late, remain subjects of dispute.
Trail remains on death row in Nebraska, though the state has not carried out an execution since 1997. Boswell is serving her sentence at the Nebraska Correctional Center for Women. Both have exhausted their initial appeals, though further legal challenges are expected.
Sydney Loofe’s family established a foundation in her name focused on online safety awareness. They have spoken publicly about the dangers of meeting strangers through dating apps and the importance of sharing plans with trusted contacts.
The case became one of the most closely followed criminal prosecutions in Nebraska in recent years, in part because of the digital evidence that documented the planning, the conflicting narratives presented at trial, and the questions that remain about what happened in the hours before Loofe’s death.
Where to look next
- Documentary: “Dead Silent: Dark Side of the Net” (Investigation Discovery)
- Podcast: “The Murder of Sydney Loofe” (“Dateline NBC”)
- Podcast: “The Tinder Murder of Sydney Loofe” (“Court Junkie”, Audiochuck)
