Inset left: Mia Bailey (Washington County Sheriff’s Office). Inset middle: Joseph Bailey (McArthur Funeral Home & Cremation Center). Inset right: Gail Bailey (McArthur Funeral Home & Cremation Center). Background: The home in Washington, Utah, where the shooting occurred (Google Maps/Law&Crime/YouTube).
A Utah woman accused of shooting her parents dead and trying to kill her brother before declaring “I would do it again” will spend a long time behind bars.
On Friday, Mia Bailey, 30, was handed down two consecutive sentences of 25 years to life – one for each parent she killed.
Bailey pleaded guilty but mentally ill last month to two counts of aggravated murder and one count of aggravated assault in the deaths of Joseph Bailey, 70, and Gail Bailey, 69.
On the evening of June 18, 2024, the Bailey parents were at their home in Washington, Utah, when someone else walked in. It was Mia Bailey – and she aimed a gun at her mother, who was watching TV, and fired. The suspect proceeded to the master bedroom, where she then shot her father, as Law&Crime’s “Sidebar with Jessie Weber” previously reported.
Mia Bailey said she shot both of her parents multiple times in order to “make sure they were dead,” according to a criminal affidavit.
“I would do it again. I hate them,” she added when interviewed, bragging about the circumstances of the case.
One of the defendant’s brothers, Cory Bailey, and his wife were also home at the time of the shooting, and Mia Bailey reportedly shot at him, too. He ran to a neighbor’s home and managed to call for help, but by the time law enforcement arrived, Mia Bailey was gone.
“The defendant attempted to kill Cory,” prosecutors said during Friday’s sentencing hearing. “In fact in the interview, the defendant stated that the brother was not her main target but she would not have been sad had the gunshot killed him.”
As authorities searched for the suspect and warned local residents about a threat, they made a significant note. Mia Bailey, previously known as Colin Bailey, was undergoing a gender transition, and she would wear wigs and could look different from the description they were giving.
In July 2023, Mia Bailey filed to legally change her name and gender. Five days later, one of her brothers filed a protective order against his sister, local CBS affiliate KUTV reporter Brian Schnee told “Sidebar.” Mia Bailey’s application was granted; the protective order was not.
Mia Bailey remained on the loose on the night of June 18, 2024, and authorities launched a search for her. At about 8 a.m. the following morning, a negotiator convinced the suspect to surrender, and she was arrested.
“Mia planned this crime out – purchased a gun … she went to the range, she practiced,” prosecutors said during a sentencing hearing on Friday. “She planned when to go, specifically targeting four individuals.”
Cory Bailey was distraught over what happened to his family, saying he doesn’t believe “there can be any true justice in something like this.”
“My family has been broken by this in many ways,” he said on Friday. “We’ve lost our parents, and we’ve lost a sibling, in many ways, as well. So either way, no matter what, we are losing.”
“What’s best for us and what’s best for Mia is for her to stay in prison for as long as possible,” he added.
Mia Bailey was originally charged with ten felonies for the deaths of her parents, including the two counts of aggravated murder, aggravated attempted murder, and aggravated burglary. However, the plea deal dismissed all but three of the charges. She was also sentenced to 0-5 years in prison for the aggravated assault charge.
“It brings me great pain and regret of the events that followed,” Mia Bailey wrote in a statement read by her attorney in court. “It makes me want to die because I can’t live with myself. I am sincerely, deeply sorry to my family that I committed this atrocity. I wish I could earn forgiveness in time.”
