2 defendants convicted in 2023 murder at abandoned Boysville facility

Lina PortmanJune 3, 2024

0 3 minutes read

MONROE — Two final defendants involved in the February 2023 murder of a young mother at an abandoned Frenchtown Township juvenile detention center learned their fate Thursday.

Brin David Westley Smith, 21, of Monroe, and Kaylyn Marie Ramsey, 34, of Wakeman, Ohio, pleaded no contest in April to second-degree murder in the death of Kayla Marie Sedoskey, 23, of Monroe. The plea agreements called for minimum prison terms of 40 years. Monroe County Circuit Judge Daniel S. White sentenced each of them Thursday to 40 to 60 years in prison.

A no contest plea is not an admission of guilt but is treated as a guilty plea for sentencing purposes.

Sedoskey's murder is “one of the most despicable crimes in Monroe County history,” Monroe County Prosecutor Jeffrey Yorkey said in a news release Thursday. The investigation reduced the time of his death to between 10 p.m. on February 15 and 12:30 a.m. on February 16, 2023.

Sedoskey's body was found wrapped in a tarp at the abandoned Boysville facility on March 2, 2023, by high school students exploring the facility. She had been shot three times, including one at close range to the top of the head, Yorkey said.

Ramsey and Smith's four co-defendants were sentenced last week. Steven Douglas Bails Jr., 45, of Frenchtown Township, was convicted by a jury in March of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder. He was sentenced to life in prison without parole for first-degree murder and life with the possibility of parole for conspiracy.

Narena Picola Bails, 25, was sentenced to 13.5 to 30 years in prison. She pleaded no contest to second-degree murder.

Sierra Nicole Bemis, 24, also pleaded no contest to second-degree murder. White sentenced her to 18 years and 9 months to 30 years in prison.

Alexander Robert Feko, 27, of Detroit Beach, pleaded guilty to tampering with evidence and three counts of accessory after the fact to a crime. White sentenced him to 5 to 10 years in prison for tampering with evidence and 3 years and 2 months to 5 years for each of the accessory charges. The terms will run simultaneously.

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White described Steven Bails as the leader of the “ridiculous” plan to kill Sedoskey. Bails and Sedoskey were romantically involved at one point and all seven were roommates. The reason for the killing remains unclear, Yorkey said, but evidence suggests it could have been a “wedding gift” for Narena Bails from Steven Bails or simply a revenge killing for the words exchanged between Ramsey and Sedoskey. Michigan State Police previously said the suspects conspired to kill Sedoskey because of multiple disagreements they had with her.

Steven Bails and the former Narena Cherry received a marriage license from the Monroe County Clerk's Office in February 2023.

The defendants' investigation and pleas revealed that Sedoskey was lured to Boysville by Smith, who claimed to have romantic feelings for her, Yorkey said. Once there, Sedoskey was attacked by her assassins. Investigators aren't sure who pulled the trigger, but the investigation suggests Steven Bails, Smith and Ramsey were present when she was killed.

The investigation revealed that Narena Bails listened to a police scanner in the suspects' apartment and was supposed to notify them if police responded to Boysville, Michigan State Police previously said. The day after the homicide, Steven Bails, Smith, Ramsey and Bemis returned to Boysville to hide Sedoskey's body and cover it with perfume to hide the smell of decay.

The Bails and Smith fled the state after Sedoskey's body was located, state police said. The Bails were arrested in North Carolina in April 2023 after an hours-long standoff with the U.S. Marshals Service. Smith was arrested in Ohio.

Sedoskey's mother, younger sister and her son's father all made statements during the sentencing, Yorkey said.

Yorkey thanked the team of law enforcement officials from the Michigan State Police and the Monroe County Sheriff's Office as well as the Michigan State Crime Lab who investigated the crime. Detective Sgt. Michael Peterson of the Michigan State Police's Monroe Post led the investigation.

“Dozens of law enforcement officials worked across agencies to collect the evidence used in this case,” Yorkey said.

The prosecution team was led by lead attorneys Leah Hubbard, Ragan Lake and Alexis Hatch. Victim rights specialist Alana Horkey comforted Sedoskey's family, Yorkey said.

— Contact journalist David Panian at [email protected] or follow him on X, formerly Twitter: @lenaweepanian.

Lina Portman

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