"Former Central Texas minister Matt Baker went 0-3 in pretrial motions Friday, being forced to give a DNA sample before he left the McLennan County Courthouse without the transcript he was seeking of what his alleged former girlfriend told the grand jury last month." (read more)
Judge Grants Request For DNA Sample From Waco-Area Pastor Matt Baker"12:06 p.m. — My apologies for the brief break in blogging, but I had to leave the breakroom as Baker, his attorney, prosecutor Susan Shafer, bailiffs and another individual came into the room in order to take Baker’s DNA sample. I’m assuming it was the usual swab of the inside of each cheek." (read more)
"WACO (April 24, 2009)—Prosecutors got permission Friday to take a DNA sample as a motions hearing got underway late Friday morning in state district court for former Waco-area pastor Matt Baker, who’s charged with murder in the 2006 death
of his wife, Kari." (read more)
"Baker's attorney also filed two new procedural motions this morning in case Baker is convicted. One would allow the possibility of probation, and the other requesting punishment be decided by a jury. Strother will set another hearing to decide on those." (read more)
"In a motion filed Monday, Baker’s lawyer, Richard Ellison, told 19th State District Judge Ralph Strother that Baker opposes a motion from prosecutors who are seeking a court order to obtain a saliva swab from the former Central Texas Baptist minister." (read more)
"Ellison has said that Baker cannot get a fair trial without county funds to hire the experts, none of whom will come cheap. Ellison has indicated in a motion that he needs to hire a crime scene reconstruction expert, a toxicologist, a pharmacologist, a pathologist and a psychologist to combat prosecutionwitnesses in those fields.
Stan Schwieger, former president of the McLennan County Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, said the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that indigent defendants are 'basically entitled to the basic building blocks of a defense,' including court-approved funds to retain expertwitnesses, if that is what it takes." (read more)
"More rare, Mark said, isto be asked to assess the mental condition of someone whom he cannot see or talk to, such as in the case of Kari Baker. In 32 years, he has done it twice, he said.
A psychologist appointed for the Baker defense will be asked to assess if she was suicidal by speaking with her husband, friends,co-workers and others and examining any medical or psychological records that may exist, Mark said.
'You do a psychiatric autopsy, if you will,' Mark said. 'There are anumber of things you can do, but I don’t think it would be that precise in any case, looking at it after the fact. You can point to pros and cons, think this is why it may have occurred, look at all the factors involved, like whether there were cyclical bouts of depression. But the bottom line is that you may never really know for sure.'" (read more)
"The motion filed by prosecutor Crawford Long asks Strother to order Baker to submit to a swab of the inside of his mouth 'for the purpose of obtaining DNA for comparison to an item or items' gathered in the murder investigation.
Strother also will consider a motion from Baker’s attorney, Richard Ellison, who has asked for a copy of transcripts of testimony from grand jury witnesses, which are confidential unless ordered released by a judge." (read more)
"The motion asks Judge Strother to direct the defendant to, 'to submit to the taking of a DNA sample by the swabbing of the interior of the defendant's mouth for the purpose of obtaining DNA for comparison to an item taken and collected in relation to the offense that is the basis of this prosecution.'"
State files motion seeking Baker's DNA
Loren Korn
KWWV-TV - Channel 25
The judge has scheduled a hearing for April 24 to consider motions filed by the DA's office and by Ellison.
"Matt Baker is curious to find out what his alleged former girlfriend told a McLennan County grand jury last month that led to his murder indictment in the April 2006 death of his wife, Kari." (read more)
"Baker has acknowledged that he gave his wife’s cell phone to Bulls after she
died and that they racked up hundreds of hours of calls on the phone." (read more)
From "neighbor in Woodway, TX":
"I lived down the street from Matt and Kari in Hewitt. Matt was arrogant and weirdly immature for a minister his age. Even after Kari died. We felt so sorry for him but when I approached him, he seemed bored with my sentiments for him and his girls. "We'll be fine" is all he said and changed the subject to talk about what our children were doing the next weekend.
And that woman was at his house all the time just a week later. All hours. She was even at the oldest girls slumber party that same month. She had her head on his shoulder and he laid on the couch with his head in her lap. It freaked some of the girls out. That was what made me think Kari didn't die of her own will. Not kari's parents. it was all Matt.
Glad to know people in Kerrville aren't as snowed as the Bakers would have us think."
WACO (April 10, 2009)--Former Waco-area pastor Matt Baker was released from the McLennan County Jail Friday afternoon, a day after a state district judge reduced his bond from $500,000 to a $250,000 surety bond, which required him to post $25,000 in cash. (read more)
Former Baptist minister Matt Baker posted bond and left McLennan County Jail late this afternoon. His bond was $250,000. (read more)
"Former Waco-area Baptist preacher Matt Baker says he is indigent and is asking McLennan County taxpayers to pick up the tab for expert witnesses to help defend him on charges he murdered his wife.
In a motion filed Tuesday seeking funds to hire court-appointed experts, Baker’s attorney, Richard Ellison, of Kerrville, says 'fairness and due process' require that 19th State District Judge Ralph Strother approve funds for defense experts in psychology, toxicology, pharmacology and crime scene reconstruction."
And one for sweet little Kassidy....
"Suicide is an answer to pain you can't get rid of," Barbara Baker said. "There was pain that Kari was undergoing that she either couldn't or didn't get the proper help for and that was not a bad answer for her."Seriously? Am I reading that right? She is saying that suicide wasn't a bad answer for Kari?? No love lost there, I guess.
"'Justice for Kari' bumper stickers are showing up on car bumpers as far away as France.
(Photo courtesy of 'Don't Even Get Me Started' blog)"
"Something Not Right But some women had a feeling something would happen, and in many cases told friends or relatives, 'If something happens, check out my husband.'
In one recent case, a Baptist minister named Matt Baker claimed to have found his wife Kari dead in bed with a bottle of over-the-counter sleeping pills. They later discovered on his computer that he's researched death by overdose of sleeping pills. She also told a counselor who came forward after her death that she had found a bag of crushed pills in her husband's briefcase. Eraser crimes often involve months of preparation."
"There are three aspects to their psychological profile. First, they have psychopathic traits and no empathy. If they can take their wife's body and chop it up and put it through a woodchipper or anchor their wife and child to the bottom of the bay -- what person could do that if they had human emotion at that level?
Yet these people aren't out-of-control, pure predators like Charles Manson or Ted Bundy. The violence is limited to their wives or girlfriends, sometimes their children or fetuses. They're so narcissistic, and they want to be the center of the world. They reach a point where they see these women and children as a burden, as an inconvenience. They're not motivated by jealousy, rage or revenge. Those things may be secondary, but what they want to do is wipe the slate clean and erase the person as if it never happened.
The third aspect of their psychology is Machiavellianism – the ability to manipulate others and strategize and plan in very dark ways. They often have an image they portray to the world as warm, generous, charming, a perfect husband or boyfriend. Ira Einhorn, a world-renowned peace expert, killed his girlfriend Holly Maddux and
kept her, like a trophy, in a trunk in his home for 18 months. These men are so cold-hearted they're perfectly happy to lie to the media, police and loved ones. Part of the narcissism is that they think they're smarter than everyone and can pull off the perfect murder -- they enjoy the battle of wits."
AND
AND one more thought from Marilee Strong about District Attorney's and why they may take a while to take the case to trial:"Easier Than Divorce Because of their unusual psychology, eraser killers believe it is easier, quicker and more emotionally satisfying to kill than to get a divorce. They're so selfish, they don't want to share anything or have to support a wife or a child -- they just want to start over. And some just can't handle the idea of potentially looking bad by getting a divorce. If you could ever get Scott Peterson to honestly answer this question, he would probably say that he didn't divorce Laci because that would hurt her. Yet somehow, in his mind, killing her wasn't hurting her."
"I sympathize with DAs because you only get one try. If he's exonerated because there's no evidence, even if the body shows up in his backyard after that he can't be retried."Definately don't want to go too soon! Better to wait until you have all you need right in place. I do believe that's about where we are now.
