A Webster County man convicted of holding his estranged wife and his child at gunpoint and threatening to kill them a decade ago has lost another appeal of his life prison sentence.
Denis Gailey of Moorland was sentenced to life in prison after a jury found him guilty of kidnapping. The Iowa Court of Appeals rejected Gailey’s claim that there wasn’t enough evidence that a kidnapping had taken place. The ruling notes Gailey told the victims he was going to kill them and himself — and had his wife to park the family’s van in a secluded area before directing her to elude officers during a high-speed chase.
Gailey’s appeal also argued his wife’s recording of a conversation shouldn’t have been used as evidence against him. In the recording, Gailey admitted he sexually abused a stepchild. The Court of Appeals has ruled the recorded conversation was relevant evidence because it illustrated Gailey’s “downward spiral” and the motive that led to the kidnapping.