Trial delayed for homicide suspect
WAYNESBURG – The trial for a Greene County man accused of killing his estranged wife was delayed Monday after his attorney filed paperwork that indicated he was abused by his father and suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder.
Scott Baker, 38, of Nemacolin is charged with criminal homicide for allegedly strangling and cutting the neck of Melissa Baker, 30, at her home on Nov. 20, 2009. The Bakers were separated at the time, and Melissa Baker was living in Crucible with the couple’s then-18-month-old son.
Jury selection in the trial was scheduled to begin this morning in Greene County Court.
However, Public Defender Harry Cancelmi filed court papers last week that said he only recently became aware of “past physical abuse” to Scott Baker at the hands of his father.
Based on that, Cancelmi asked Dr. Michael Crabtree to evaluate his client’s mental health, and Crabtree found that Scott Baker suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder. The anxiety disorder can occur in people who have seen or experienced a traumatic event.
“Dr. Crabtree has opined that the diagnosis of PTSD has affected the defendant’s ability to control his behavior,” Cancelmi wrote.
He argued that such a diagnosis would be relevant in determining if Scott Baker could form the intent to kill and premeditate the killing.
Premeditation is necessary to prove first-degree murder.
To prove the defense, Cancelmi indicated he would call Crabtree and several other lay witnesses at trial.
District Attorney Marjorie Fox had asked President Judge William R. Nalitz to strike the notice of a defense of mental infirmity or insanity because it was filed far out of the time frame in which it could be filed.
Fox’s filing notes that Scott Baker’s father died in September 2009, two months before he allegedly killed Melissa Baker
Nalitz’s order delays jury selection and the start of the trial indefinitely. The jurist required Cancelmi to file Crabtree’s report by March 15, and gives prosecutors until April 22 to file a contrary report from a prosecution expert about Scott Baker’s mental state.
Nalitz will hold a status conference to see where both sides are with the case on April 26.
Scott Baker’s son, Nathaniel Baker, was age 12 when his stepmother died.
The child testified during a preliminary hearing in December 2009 that his father invoked his help to make Melissa Baker’s death look like it was the result of a robbery.
Nathaniel Baker said his father started talking about killing Melissa Baker in early November 2009, and told the child he wanted to kill her so he could have full custody of the baby.
On Nov. 19, police allege that Scott Baker told his son he wouldn’t be going to school the next day so that he could tell police they were home together.
On Nov. 20, Nathaniel Baker and his father went to Melissa Baker’s home and he went into an upstairs bathroom as his father had instructed him, Nathaniel Baker said.
At some point, Scott Baker called for his son to come down and take his crying half brother upstairs, police alleged.
The boy saw his stepmother’s motionless body when he came downstairs to get the baby, police indicated.
Scott Baker and his two sons returned to the home later in the day, when Scott Baker made it look like his estranged wife was the victim of a robbery.
Melissa Baker died of manual strangulation and a 4-inch cut on the left side of her neck.
Scott Baker is charged with criminal homicide, tampering with evidence, solicitation to commit both of those crimes and intimidation of a witness.