A Response

The 20/20 show generated a lot of comments on this blog and other news sources. One comment from Sadie really stands out and says so eloquently what a lot of us are feeling. So I am pulling that comment up into a post as suggested by A_News_Junkie. ;)

"Watching this made me cry for Kari. And for Linda and Jim, and for all of Kari's students and friends and family... and mostly for her precious girls who have been lied to and brainwashed, controlled and exploited by their mother's killer, so shamelessly and for so long.

It's beyond tragic, that a man in a position of trust as a worker for God could harbor this unbelievable level of evil inside. That a man trusted by his wife could set out to utterly and heartlessly destroy her like this; that a man trusted by his little girls could rob them of a normal life; that he would scheme to erase the beautiful love their mother had for them, and they for her; that a man trusted by the family could so hideously betray and destroy that trust and care nothing for their shattered lives and broken hearts.

It is the epitome of EVIL. He not only carried out a heinous, cruel, premeditated murder by tricking his wife, he also proceeded to protect himself from the consequences of his actions by trying to murder her good name and her good memory, and by perverting the love in his children's hearts. He turned them against their mother and taught them to hate those who sought the TRUTH about what he had done. He has controlled the girls' minds and kept them imprisoned in his dark web of lies for all this time (with the help of his mother), effectively forcing them by default to act as unwitting accomplices in his cover-up! My heart breaks for them. That is a violation of the highest order.

Yeah, this made me cry. But I will rejoice with you and the Dulins and all who seek justice, when Kari's girls are brought home, and when their hearts and minds are finally free of the mystification that keeps them from accepting the truth and remembering the love of their mother and their other family.

Justice for Kari, part one: Matt Baker has lost the right to live free in society. He is where he belongs. One day, the girls will be where they belong, too: back in the arms of love. And that will be the fulfillment of Justice for Kari.

Love trumps evil. Oh, yes it does."

If you have general comments or thoughts on the show, feel free to leave a comment on this post. I'll be posting some more specific things throughout the day.

My Two Cents on Justice of the Peace Martin

While reading Erin Quinn's article, Justices of Peace have leeway in dealing with death issues, on the WacoTrib.com this morning, several things came to mind. A couple of quotes, in particular, from her article speak volumes: (italic emphasis by me)

"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 left a comment on the online article, but I think it was either too long or contained a link or maybe just too bold to be published. So I will just post it here in my forum and invite your comments and thoughts on the matter:

Erin, those two quotes from your article speak volumes. As citizens of McLennan County, we have the authority and duty to vote in the best people to be our Justices of the Peace. We have to vote in Justices of the Peace that are not only wise and vigilant but also inquisitive and caring enough that we can trust them to use this wisdom and vigilance to make informed, reasonable determinations.

Granted, there are not a lot of murders in Hewitt, Texas and this is not routine for these officers. Mistakes were made, yes. But at least three officers/detectives with the Hewitt PD made reference to an autopsy. The following information is all on the record and can be found by viewing or downloading the August 29, 2007 formal inquest proceedings from the WacoTrib.com. You will find that link here: http://www.wacotrib.com/news/crime/MattBaker/

Sergeant Kasting was the FIRST one to call JP Martin. He reported his findings at the scene to him. He read the typed suicide note to JP Martin. I do not know if he indicated to him that it was an un-signed, typed note or not. That would be interesting to know. Then Detective Bond arrives at the scene and takes the photographs and asks Kasting if an autopsy was ordered. Detective Bond must have had a reason to ask. Sergeant Kasting didn't specifically ask JP Martin if he wanted to order an autopsy in his first phone call so he called JP Martin a SECOND time and specifically asked about ordering an autopsy. JP Martin said that no, at that time he wasn't going to order one. Then Detective Cooper arrives on the scene. He and Sergeant Kasting discuss their observations. Detective Cooper asks specifically if he had contacted a justice of the peace and Kasting said that he had and that JP Martin did not want to order an autopsy. Detective Cooper was concerned enough that he contacted JP Martin himself. This was the THIRD phone call by authorities on the scene to JP Martin in the early morning hours of April 8. Detective Cooper went over his observations with JP Martin and even on this third phone call, JP Martin still did not order an autopsy. Detective Cooper was still so concerned about this lack of order for autopsy, that he called his police captain and informed him of the situation. Police captain actually said it was okay and that if the justice of the peace didn't want an autopsy, they wouldn't have one.

Lots of balls were dropped during this whole investigation and ordeal leading up to Matt's second arrest, indictment and finally his conviction. And I know that people make mistakes and that Justice of the Peace Martin is only human. But God Lord, even after THREE phone calls from authorities on the scene, he doesn't think it's even important or curious enough to pause, ask questions or attempt to come to the scene for himself? This was his "reasonable determination"? I would also like to add that even on the witness stand at the murder trial, JP Martin seemed to take no responsibility or have any regrets for not ordering an autopsy on Kari's murdered body. Has he learned nothing from this horrible mistake? Has he done the same thing since Kari's murder? Will he continue to do so in the future? Is this what the voters and taxpayers of McLennan County deserve from their justices of the peace?

I do give thanks that in August of 2007, Justice of the Peace Martin finally rose to the task of asking investigative questions at this formal inquest and taking the big step forward in changing his previous un-investigated ruling on cause of death as suicide to the slightly more-informed ruling on cause of death as undetermined. That started the ball rolling for Justice for Kari. For that, I do thank you Justice Martin. And I hope and pray that all of McLennan County Justices of the Peace remember the travesty of justice shown to Kari Dulin Baker (and her daughters and family) for so long before due diligence finally came to her murder case.

A Recent Comment...

Just wanted to highlight a recent comment:

To friend in Dallas:
Matt has been losing jobs for many years. If mr. Baker (sorry. can't call him pastor) had such a great relationship at the church where he was a pastor in Dallas, why did his first (in a long line) attorneys threaten to sue that church (and I am betting this letter went to other churches too) if they gave out any information about him? Now you know why I won't leave my name here. This information isn't known by many but it can be confirmed. I was a member at that church.

He was fired at our church. First we reduced his salary to try and push him out. It was a painful experience with him. In fact, the only bright light in his time at our church WAS Kari. We loved her.It makes me so very sad for kensi and Grace. I knew them well and loved them through the children's programs. Kari loved matt and stood by him through the many problems he had at our church. Look how he repayed her. Pure evil resides in some people.

Kari was a teacher at an elementary school in Richardson ISD, and she was loved. In fact, there is a brick in her memory there from Dallas friends. People were drawn to Kari. Matt never had that impact on people, In fact it was just the opposite.

To the people in Kerrville: be careful. he is not who he pretends to be. I know.

Sweet Memory Comment....

I received this sweet memory a few days ago. Wanted to make sure it wasn't missed. Thanks, Jill!

With school starting, I wanted to share a few memories in honor of Kari. I taught in the room right next to Kari's. I could often hear Kari and her class through the walls. You could tell when she had done something funny, her whole class would erupt with laughter.

I can still see her flip-flopping into my room (with her Reefs on)and talking with her hands, her bracelet just a jingling! She was often excited about something.

We got together with a few coworkers to exchange Christmas gifts. She had picked out a gag gift for me. At school the children have to walk quietly in the halls. We call this "Panther Pride." She gave me a pair of GIGANTIC red underwear that said, "Panther Pride" on the bottom. I found them in a closet a few months ago and laughed out loud.

Jill

Kerrville Comment

A comment from a few days ago:

"Blackjack Davy said...
I was given (by a friend) a "Justice for Kari" bumper sticker to show my support for Kari. I work in Kerrville. One week after I put the bumper sticker on my car, it was torn off by an unknown person/s either when I was attending a doctor's appointment or when I was parked "downtown" (by Francisco's restaurant). If MB's supporter's want to have any credibility in the eyes of the public, they need to counsel their peers not to resort to childish vandalism. It's a sad and desperate thing to resort to."

I have had numerous emails from folks in Kerrville that wanted a sticker but knew this would happen. Their support is via prayers. And we appreciate that very much!

Point to Ponder #1

Once again....pulling Peggy's comments from In Cold Blog to post on. It's a perfectly legitmate question that when asked, NO "Matt just couldn't do such a thing" folks have a response. It just sits there like a giant white elephant in the room that they don't want to acknoweldge at all.

Peggy says:

"Emotionless question:

Matt says he was gone for approximately 50 minutes when he came home and found her dead and called 911. As body temperature and rate of lividity showed, Kari was dead for for 2-3 times longer than Matt was away. How does this add up to show Matt innocent?

Quoting from the 48 Hours piece:

'And he is not the only one who questions Matt’s story. Steven Karch, a toxicologist 48 Hours consulted, said that if Kari were alive when Matt said he left the house, her body would not be cold to the touch-as both Matt and a paramedic reported. 'Being cold in an hour is non-existent. Unless you’re killed in the Arctic or in an icebox,' he said.'

Quoting from the arrest affidavit:

'Your Affiant is aware that Dr. David Stafford of Memphis, Tennessee, has reviewed the evidence in this investigation. Dr. Stafford was the Director of Toxicology for the University Of Tennessee Medical School. Dr. Stafford has determined that if Kari Baker had ingested enough Ambien or Unisom to cause her death, it could not have taken place in the time frame given by The Defendant to police. Dr. Stafford believes it would have taken at least an hour or more longer than the time frame explained.'

Also from the arrest affidavit:

'Your Affiant is also aware that Tom Bevel of Norman, Oklahoma, has reviewed the evidence in this investigation. Mr. Bevel is a well-known expert on homicides and homicide investigation and a published authority on numerous subjects including crime scene investigation. Mr. Bevel claimed that he believed that Kari Baker was not nude at the time of her death as the Defendant described. Mr. Bevel believed that Kari Baker’s panties were put on by her, not someone (else,) after her death. Your Affiant believes that the Defendant may have told the story that Kari Baker was nude to provide a reason for her body to be cold to the touch. Also, Mr. Bevel believed that lividity could not have begun and become set in the time frame given by the Defendant. Mr. Bevel believed that it would have taken much longer for the body to become cold and lividity to set.'

Points to ponder. "

Indeed, Peggy. Indeed.