Remove Baker’s photo
How often do you update the Tribune-Herald ’s online home page?We are tired of seeing Matt Baker’s picture looking out at us. Please remove his photo!
Seeing that picture every time one pulls up our local news is disgusting. He is getting what was coming to him!
Jo Ann Rowland, Waco
When asked by Crawford Long if Matt Baker ever told her anything about Kari's death, he said, Bulls confessed to an affair with the preacher and knowledge of his alleged plans to kill his wife. "'Yes, he told me he killed her because of me,'" Long recalled her saying.
In an exclusive television interview from prison, ABC News Correspondent Jim Avila talks to Matt, the popular Baptist minister from Waco, Texas, convicted of murdering his wife and staging it as a suicide.
He was indicted in 2009 after a female member of his church who first denied having an inappropriate relationship with Baker changed her story and told authorities the two were having an affair and that Baker told her he killed his wife so they could be together.
Crawford Long and Susan Shafer, assistant district attorneys in McLennan County, Texas, recently published a detailed account in an online trade journal of allegations by their star witness, Vanessa Bulls, that helped convince a jury to, on its first ballot, unanimously find the former preacher guilty of murder.
According to investigators, Baker had also spent years living "a secret life as a sexual predator." Yet, despite multiple allegations of sexual assault and abuse, he was always able to move on through churches, schools and organizations affiliated with the Baptist General Convention of Texas.No one stopped him.Not until he was put on trial for murder did people in the pews finally learn about the sexual abuse and assault allegations against him.
A 19th State District Court jury convicted Baker of murder in January in the April 2007 drugging and suffocation death of his 31-year-old wife at their Hewitt home.
Then there are countless websites that are posting about this that refer back to other articles, either AP, or ABP or the WacoTrib:
ReligionNewsBlog.com
BaylorInformation.com
Facebook - Texas Monthly
TheGospelNewsWire.com
BaptistPlanet.com
"Former Central Texas minister Matt Baker tried this week to file a motion to transfer venue of the custody fight between his parents and his wife’s parents from Waco to Kerrville.
But, Baker did not submit a filing fee or proper affidavit alleging his indigence, so McLennan County District Clerk Karen Matkin was unable to file his motion." (read more)
"Gentry was caught on videotape trying to retrieve the pistol she threw into a pond near Axtell after shooting her husband as he slept. Their three sons were asleep down the hall.
She filed a state motion for writ of habeas corpus Tuesday, alleging she was wrongfully convicted, did not receive a fair trial and is unlawfully imprisoned." (read more)
I think Gentry's attorney, Damon Reed, gets a little ahead of himself with this quote:
“In comparing our case to the Baker situation, I believe that the parent and grandparents involved put the children ahead of their own personal issues to get the matter settled and to keep the matter out of court,” Reed said. “They should
all be commended for it. At this point, it is a grandchild issue. It is not a murder case.” (read more)
Darlene was sentenced over 3 years ago, and that was 5 years after the murder. What part of it taking 3+ years to work out a custody arrangement is to be applauded? What has happened in the 3+ years getting to this point? Also, Mr. Reed, if you don't know the parties and circumstances involved, I don't think it prudent to take the "high horse" stance. I'm open to more info. But this bit sounds braggy.....without warrant.
"But what if the Dulins hadn’t been so driven in their efforts to reopen the case? What if the death of Kari Baker — drugged, then suffocated to death by her husband — had been allowed to fall through the cracks, with little in the way of an inquest or meaningful investigation? How many cases, we now wonder, are missed because they lack determined advocates such as the Dulins?"
"Tom and Jan Purdy, of Waco, friends of the Dulins and privy to their uphill battle to reopen the investigation, are now pushing what they and others call “Kari’s Law,” which would require autopsies in such cases rather than leave the decision to authorities who are possibly overburdened with yet other duties (including issuing warrants, conducting marriages or setting bail) or are simply ill-equipped to make these critical decisions themselves."
"The idea certainly rates thoughtful consideration by lawmakers, especially considering that justices of the peace are elected positions, occupied by individuals who range widely in terms of competence, wisdom and knowledge. Many are excellent, some are not. And many do have other taxing duties." (read more)
"A retired Waco couple is pushing state officials to amend Texas law in honor of 31-year-old Hewitt teacher Kari Baker, whose husband almost got away with murder by making her death look like a suicide.
Tom and Jan Purdy wrote a letter this week to 14 local and state officials urging them to back 'Kari’s Law,' which would mandate that an autopsy is conducted on any suspected suicide." (read more)
"Baker, 38, was sentenced to 65 years in prison last month in the April 2006 suffocation and drugging death of Kari Baker, the girls’ mother. He remains in the McLennan County Jail awaiting transfer to prison.
The Dulins pledged to seek custody of the girls and make them their first priority at the completion of Baker’s trial." (read more)
"This whole situation is tragic. These girls have had their lives shaped by the tragedy of the loss of their mother and now the loss of their father. The main issue must be the ultimate welfare of the girls - not just for today, this school year, but for their entire lives. The only way they can begin to heal is to honestly face the tragedies that have occurred. Living in Kerrville, I know that the girls have many good friends and are secure in their lives. My niece is one of their good friends. However, I do not believe that the Baker's will give them the counseling that is needed for the healing to occur. They still refuse to admit that Matt did anything wrong. At this point, that shows not only mindful ignorance, but neglect as well. While it may be hard to uproot them, it is better than leaving them to grow in a toxic household. That is not to say the Baker's are evil people, I am sure they are not, but there is line between support of your children and indulence [indolence] in harmful behavior. I think they have crossed that line. And looking at this from the perspective of the Dulin's, would any of you be willing to let your grandchildren stay with the family that was responsible for killing your daughter? As a parent, I would never do that and neither will Linda and Jim."
"Texas law states that a justice of the peace can conduct an inquest — or determine the cause and circumstances of a person’s death — where the person died, where the body was found, or 'at any other place determined to be reasonable by the justice.'”
"With no qualifications required, a vague law to follow and only voters as
their bosses, McLennan County’s eight justices of the peace make rulings on
every death, even those attended by some physicians. They can seek information
from the person’s family, an autopsy, law enforcement, doctors and what they’ve
learned in their training."
“I just didn’t have the heart for it,” said Gray, who served 25 years as the Jasper County district attorney before moving to Kerrville several years ago.
Despite Gray’s unusual post-trial comments, Schwieger said they likely won’t be fodder for his appeal.
“If his comments constitute violations of the professional rules of conduct, that does not affect the appeal,”Schwieger said. “That has nothing to do with the trial itself. If client confidences were disclosed, or whatever, at that point, it has nothing to do with the appellate process.” (read more)
"The unavailability of the medical examiner who performed an autopsy on Kari Baker has forced the postponement of Matt Baker’s murder trial." (read more)While I hate to have a delay in getting down to the business of justice, it's better to wait until all the prosecution's experts and witnesses can be there to give their testimony. This medical examiner must have really good stuff that the DA's office wants the Judge and jury to hear. So all in all, it's a good thing.
"The medical examiner also reported there was evidence she had been smothered." (read more)Very interesting. Evidence. Smothered.
"By Concerned
Aug 31, 2009 8:05 AM Link to this
Kari was a disturbed individual. The media and her family are in total denial. Every year around the date of her daughter's death she could not function as a human being. She would spend at least a week in bed and on medication to get over the week. I hope that the jury hears the truth in this case and not just what her parents want them to hear."
"By Shannon
Aug 31, 2009 8:41 AM Link to this
Dear Concerned, Kari is not the disturbed individual involved here. And if you truly knew her, you wouldn't/couldn't say that. Unless you are the one person that did know her that is desperate for the world to believe your lies. I (among many, many others) saw Kari almost daily during March and April and did not see, hear, experience this "could not function as a human being" you talk of. And as you know, she did not die during that "week" anyway. In fact, I saw Kari that Friday afternoon and she was upbeat, jovial and making plans for the weekend and her new job. You gotta give up that lame defense. Mountains of evidence to refute it. And don't worry, the jury will hear all kinds of truth. The DA's office (not the Dulins) is running this show and he's got this thing lock, stock and barrel. There is only one thing you should be concerned about and my guess is that you very much are."
"When the criminal defendant is a preacher, politician or police officer —I can only imagine the intricacies involved. It is very much a double-edge sword. Don't you think? It's a very interesting topic for discussion. But regardless, the facts of this case will stand firm in the minds of those on all ends of the religious views spectrum. Justice is justice....even when it's a long time coming.
occupations that elicit strong emotions in a number of areas — attorneys
sometimes spend extra time during jury selection trying to find out prospective
jurors’ attitudes about that and related topics." (read more)
"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)
