Transgender Woman Who Executed Parents, Converted to Islam in Prison, Sentenced to Life by Utah Court

A transgender woman who fatally shot her parents before converting to Islam in prison has been sentenced to two consecutive 25-years-to-life terms by a Utah court.

Mia Bailey, 30, appeared in court on Friday for the killings of Gail Bailey, 69, and Joseph Bailey, 70, at their Washington City residence in June 2024. She had begged to skip the sentencing, expressing fears that confronting the details of her crimes might trigger a psychological collapse, but Judge Barnes refused the request.

Ryan Stout, defending Bailey, read a statement on her behalf in which she declared: “It brings me great pain and regret I was not in a stable mindset at the time, and if only I had gotten help, this would have been preventable.

“Because of my religious beliefs as a Muslim, it would be appropriate to take my life for atonement for what I did.”

Bailey entered her parents’ home on June 18 2024 with the stated intention of killing them, according to court documents. Her mother sustained four gunshot wounds while her father was shot twice in the head.

Following the shootings, Bailey descended to a lower floor and fired through a closed bedroom door towards her brother, who had barricaded himself inside with his wife. The couple escaped to a neighbouring property and contacted emergency services.

The brother and his wife reported hearing their parents shout at Bailey to leave before gunshots rang out, according to police documents. Bailey fled the scene but was apprehended 16 hours later in St George after an extensive search.

Upon arrest, she told officers she had arrived at the property “with the intent to kill her parents” and expressed no remorse, stating: “I would do it again. I hate them.”

The 30-year-old killer had previously been diagnosed with a range of psychiatric conditions including schizophrenia, autism, ADHD, OCD, anxiety, depression, and possible bipolar disorder with psychosis.