Date set in Greene County slaying case
A Nemacolin man’s trial for allegedly killing his estranged wife, previously delayed as his attorney argued he may be incompetent, is now scheduled for November in Greene County Court.
In an order, President Judge William R. Nalitz set jury selection in Scott Baker’s trial to begin on Nov. 29. His order indicated attorneys for both sides should set aside until Dec. 16 for the trial.
Baker, 39, is charged with criminal homicide, criminal solicitation of criminal homicide, intimidation of a witness, tampering with evidence and solicitation to commit tampering with evidence. State police allege he strangled his estranged wife, Melissa Baker, to death at her home in Crucible on Nov. 20, 2009.
Police allege that Baker asked his son, Nathaniel, then age 12, to provide an alibi for him, and then set up the killing to appear as though it were a robbery gone awry.
Nathaniel Baker testified previously that his father started talking about killing his wife in early November, when he told the boy she was going to “disappear.” Nathaniel Baker said during a preliminary hearing that Melissa Baker wanted full custody of his 18-month-old half brother. The toddler was Scott and Melissa Baker’s child; Nathaniel Baker has a different mother.
Scott Baker essentially asked Nathaniel Baker to offer him an alibi if police asked where he was, instructing that he tell authorities he was home all day, the boy previously testified.
Police said Scott Baker kept his son home from school on Nov. 20, and the two went to Melissa Baker’s home.
When they got there, Nathaniel Baker testified previously he went to the bathroom as soon as they arrived, as his father instructed. While he was there, he heard his stepmother scream and then a loud thud, according to prior testimony. Then, Nathaniel Baker said, his father told him to come out and get his half brother, because the baby was on the floor screaming.
At that point, the boy indicated to police that he saw his father standing over Melissa Baker’s motionless body, his hand over her mouth.
Scott Baker and his two sons returned to the home later in the day so that Scott Baker could make it look like Melissa Baker was killed during the course of a robbery, according to prior testimony.
The trial was initially scheduled to start on March 1, but one week before on Feb. 24, his public defender filed the notice of insanity or mental infirmity.