Four sentenced in bizarre Monroe County murder scheme concocted as a 'wedding present'

MONROE COUNTY, Mich. (FOX 2) - Several people involved in a bizarre scheme to murder a Monroe County woman as a gift to her ex-boyfriend were sentenced to varying prison terms on Thursday, including the leader of the group.

Steven Bails, 45, had once dated Kayal Sedoskey, a 23-year-old woman whose body was later found wrapped in a tarp and left in an abandoned school in the rural county in 2023. On May 23, he faced a judge where he was given a life sentence after being convicted of first-degree murder. 

According to investigators, he was the ring leader of an elaborate and strange plot to murder Sedoskey as a wedding present. 

Along with Bails, his wife Narena Bails was sentenced to 13-30 years in prison for second-degree murder. She testified against Steven earlier in the case. Two others also learned their fate on Thursday, including Sierra Bemis, who was given between 18 years and nine months and 30 years in prison, and Alexander Feko who was sentenced to five to 10 years in prison. 

A Michigan State Police investigation and other testimony during plea deals revealed that six people had lured Sedoskey into the abandoned Boysville facility early last year and shot her three times.

"You should have alerted somebody to this ridiculous plan, and you didn’t do that," said Judge Daniel White in court. 

The judge accosted the defendants for the scheme, telling them of the several moments during the plan to kill the 23-year-old when they should have known better.

"Anybody would know that when you’re told to dress in black, that’s the time to put the brakes on," said the judge.

Carol Bails, who was Steven's mom, said she didn't believe her son was the leader. The family's' grandmother was also left stunned after the sentencing.

"I’m 83 years old. I never thought I’d live to see this happen, especially to one of my grandkids," said Dorothy Rice.

Each person involved in the case played a role in the murder. 

Feko, who was the clean-up man, also tried disposing of the murder weapon. His attorney argued he was the first person involved to squeal on the co-defendants, though the judge wasn't very sympathetic.

Bemis was the lookout. 

Two other defendants involved in the murder include Brin Smith, 21 of Monroe, and Kaylyn Ramsey, 34 of Wakeman, Ohio, tried their case in a jury trial. But it took them only an hour to convict the defendants. 

They'll learn their fate on May 30.