‘Scared to death.’ Alleged target asks judge to keep Lake of the Ozarks Realtor in jail
A Realtor at the Lake of the Ozarks accused in a murder-for-hire plot will stay behind bars until trial after a judge on Tuesday denied her bond request.
Leigh Ann Bauman, 43, was arrested earlier this month on charges that she tried to have her former mother-in-law murdered over concerns she was interfering with her relationship with her children. Prosecutors said Bauman agreed to pay $1,500 to have individuals in St. Louis make the death “look like an accident.”
On Tuesday morning, Bauman’s attorney sought her release on bond. Camden County Prosecuting Attorney Caleb Cunningham said the state was concerned for the safety and well being of Bauman’s alleged victim, as well as her two children.
He said Bauman needed to remain in jail, where her communication could be monitored.
“The defendant attempted to hire a hit man to kill her mother-in-law,” he said.
One of Bauman’s children and her former mother-in-law testified Tuesday morning, asking a judge to keep Bauman in jail. Her former mother-in-law said she feared for the safety of herself and her family.
“Right now, I’m scared to death that if she would be out she not only would want to hurt me, she wouldn’t hesitate to hurt her daughters to get even with me,” she said. “And she wouldn’t hesitate to hurt my children because she knows it would destroy me.”
In a probable cause statement, the Missouri Highway Patrol said a witness recorded Bauman plotting to have her ex-husband’s mother killed. The defendant allegedly told her daughter in a text message that “your grandmother will die.”
Bauman is charged with conspiracy to commit murder. If convicted, she could face a three- to 10-year jail sentence, the prosecutor previously said.
On Tuesday, the defendant appeared on video from the nearby Morgan County Jail. She said little during the hearing but did break down in tears several times.
Defense attorney Dean Price said Bauman was diagnosed with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and was unable to receive her prescribed medications while in jail. He said she previously was diagnosed with anxiety and depression.
“What we have here your honor is a sick young woman and every day she’s in custody that illness is going to get worse,” Price said.
Judge Heather Miller, a former Camden County prosecutor, said she was sensitive to the mental health concerns and said services could be provided to the defendant while she is held for trial.
Miller acknowledged that the Class C felony charge would permit her to release Bauman on bond. But she said she believed that the defendant posed too much of a safety risk if released.
“I can find no way and I know of no conditions which would prevent her from contacting other people to try to meet the same ends that she is accused of doing,” she said.
This story was originally published March 16, 2021 at 12:09 PM.
