Baker sentenced to life in prison
WAYNESBURG — A Nemacolin man convicted of first-degree murder and other charges for soliciting his son as an alibi before killing his estranged wife was sentenced Monday to life plus 11 to 22 years in prison.
Greene County President Judge William R. Nalitz handed down the sentence.
Scott Baker, 39, was found guilty of strangling and then slashing the throat of 30-year-old Melissa Baker during a trial in December in which he abruptly and unexpectedly entered a guilty plea to a general count of homicide after the prosecution rested its case.
Baker admitted killing Melissa Baker in her Crucible mobile home on Nov. 20, 2009, in the middle of his trial. The autopsy revealed that she died of manual strangulation and that her throat was cut when she was either dead or dying. She was found by two coworkers after she didn’t show up for work at the Greene County Prison.
The prosecution, headed by District Attorney Marjorie Fox, successfully argued that Scott Baker recruited his then-12-year-old son Nathaniel Baker to use as an alibi in his plot to kill Melissa Baker. At the time she was killed, the then 20-month-old son she and Scott Baker shared, Brett Baker, was in the mobile home also.
In handing down the sentence, Nalitz said the only thing more despicable than killing a defenseless woman was the fact that Scott Baker involved his elder son and left his younger son an orphan by taking the child’s mother and then forfeiting his right to live in society.
“It is my duty to order you into the care and custody of the Department of Corrections where you will live for the rest of your natural life with no possibility of parole,” Nalitz said.
In addition to the life sentence for first-degree murder, Baker was sentenced to consecutive sentences of 10 to 20 years for criminal solicitation to commit homicide and 1 to 2 years for intimidation of a witness, as well as two concurrent 3 to 6 month sentences for tampering with evidence and criminal solicitation to commit tampering of evidence.
During the trial, Nathaniel Baker testified that his father told him that his stepmother was going to “disappear” and then formed a plan to kill her while Nathaniel Baker went to the bathroom at her mobile home. Nathaniel Baker also said his father kept him home from school on that day and instructed him to tell the police that they were at home all day when the killing occurred.
When Melissa Baker was killed by Scott Baker, both her stepson and her son were inside the mobile home.
Prior to sentencing, Sarah Smith, the mother of Nathaniel Baker, read a statement urging Scott Baker to take ownership for his senseless and selfish act that took Melissa Baker’s life. Smith said Melissa Baker was her hero because she stood up to Scott Baker, adding that she was thankful that Brett won’t have his mind poisoned by his father.
Smith urged Scott Baker to admit that he executed a calculated murder of his estranged wife and said he should take responsibility. She said if he is truly sorry, he won’t appeal the verdict or cause any more turmoil and should accept his sentence and pray to be forgiven.
Anna Scholler, Melissa Baker’s mother also spoke before Scott Baker was sentenced.
“You thought you were going to make Melissa disappear. You made her into a hero and you’re the one who’s going to disappear,” Scholler said. She went on to say that Scott Baker accomplished nothing because Melissa Baker will always be alive through Brett and Nathaniel.
“It’s time for you to disappear,” Scholler said.
Scott Baker, who appeared in court in an orange jumpsuit with “WCCF” (Washington County Correctional Facility) emblazoned on the back with his hands and feet shackled, read from a prepared statement before Nalitz sentenced him to spend the rest of his natural life behind bars.
He asked Melissa Baker’s parents to forgive him and apologized to his sons, his mother and Melissa Baker for what he did.
“I’m sorry Melissa for taking you from this world. I wish I could trade places. I love and miss you so much, I pray you forgive me,” Scott Baker said, before ending his statement with a prayer.
Although Scott Baker had entered a guilty plea to homicide, the jury still had to determine what degree of homicide he was guilty of, as well as if he was guilty of the other charges against him. The trial included two days of jury selection, nine days of testimony and the final day of closing statements and the judge’s instructions to the jury.
Two of the women who served on the six-man, six-woman jury which convicted Scott Baker after 2 1/2 hours or deliberations attended the sentencing. Each of the jurors went up to Scholler afterward, sharing tears and an embrace with her.