Denise Frei seemed to have a good life, on the surface at least. She ran the popular and successful Bailey's Lincoln Café in Belle Plaine, near her home in Marengo, Iowa. Her son worked in the family business, and she had a strong and loving relationship with her boyfriend. Indeed, 33-year-old Curtis Bailey, a construction worker, had put his hands into his pockets to fund the restaurant she now ran.
But what we learn from looking at true crime scenarios is that what appears on the surface is rarely the full story. In Frei's case, it would prove to be hiding a very different existence.
Denise Frei, her son Jacob Hilgendorf and his friend Jessica Dayton are all now serving life in prison, without the possibility of parole, convicted of murdering Curtis Bailey. Although at times the crime descended into what seems like something close to farce, it was a violent and merciless attack, with elements of vicious planning and unbelievable cruelty.
Yet, for all this, there are other sides to this sad story.