Guilty in the First Degree. The verdict was given by a jury in the murder trial of 56-year-old Michelle Boat of Pella after approximately 43 minutes of deliberation in Marion County District Court Tuesday afternoon.

The charge carries a life sentence without parole. Boat killed Tracy Mondabaugh of Ottumwa on May 18th, 2020, the woman who was dating Michelle’s estranged husband Nicholas at the time, 69 days after he left their home on Prairie Street in Pella.

Julie Kuiper was the key eyewitness of the May 18th incident, testifying that she saw a woman–later identified as Michelle Boat, outside of a parked truck with a bloody face that caused her hair to stick up.

“I don’t think ever in my life I thought that I would ever see something like this, and feeling a lot of pressure of needing to be Tracy’s voice. There’s only four people who saw what happened, know what happened, and that would be Michelle, Tracy, me, and God. And I felt like I had to be Tracy’s voice.”

Lt. Shane Cox with the Pella Police Department responded to the Glenwood Street apartment complex where Mondabaugh was stabbed that same night, and said after the verdict he’s thankful for the jury’s decision, and appreciates the work the department was able to do with other partners to help the Marion County Attorney’s Office and Iowa Attorney General’s Office build their case.

“If anything, it’s shown that this kind of thing can happen anywhere and even in a place in Pella, where we don’t deal with this on a regular basis, when something bad does happen, our department in Pella is ready to step up, do the work, and do a good job,” Cox says.

Hear more from the murder trial of Michelle Boat on today’s Let’s Talk Pella.

Previous Updates:
BREAKING: Boat Guilty of First Degree Murder – May 11th
Boat Defends Herself in Murder Trial; Closing Arguments Today – May 11th
Defense Presenting Case Today in Michelle Boat Trial – May 10th
Defense in Boat Trial to Begin Case Monday – May 8th
Defendant Admits to Killing, Wants Lesser Charge – May 7th

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