For Baker’s children, Jesse and Caitlin Baker, the recent events have been bittersweet.
"The arrest the other day was not for our mother, so we were all a little conflicted about it," Jesse said.
A bandana found near the crime scene of Christine Morton’s murder matched 57-year-old Mark Alan Norwood. That DNA also matched the previously unknown suspect in Baker's murder.
"It's not done yet, so I am glad [Norwood] is off the street,” Caitlin said. “Of course we don’t know for sure. He is a suspect but he actually hasn't been charged or convicted."
District Judge Ken Anderson was the prosecutor in the Morton trial. He now faces accusations of holding back key evidence which supported Morton's innocence.
Wednesday, Anderson publicly apologized for what he called the "system failure,” leaving the Baker family torn with emotion and confused with the latest development in their mother's case."
REPORTER JOHN A. SALAZAR; YYU;
(Photo: Michael Morton);
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BACKGROUND: (Michael) Morton was the victim of serious prosecutorial misconduct that caused him to lose 25 years of his life and completely ripped apart his family. Perhaps even more tragically, we now know that another murder might have been prevented if law enforcement had continued its investigation rather than building a false case against Mr. Morton,” said Barry Scheck, Co-Director of the Innocence Project, which is affiliated with Cardozo School of Law. “This tragic miscarriage of justice must be fully investigated and steps must be taken to hold police and prosecutors accountable.” In August, the Innocence Project announced that DNA testing on a bandana found near the Morton’s home where the murder occurred contained the blood of the victim, Christine Morton, and a male other than Morton. According to the papers filed by the Innocence Project yesterday, new DNA testing has connected the male DNA on the bandana to a hair that was found at the crime scene of a Travis County murder that was conducted with a similar modus operandi after Morton was incarcerated. Morton always maintained that the murder was committed by a third-party intruder. In the filing, the Innocence Project charges that Morton would never have been convicted of the crime if the prosecution had turned over as required evidence pointing to his innocence. Newly discovered evidence that was uncovered through a Public Records Act request that was not given to the defense includes: • A transcript of a taped interview by the chief investigator, Sgt. Don Wood, with the victim’s mother where the mother says that the couple’s three-year-old child witnessed the murder and provided a chilling account of watching a man who was not his father beat Christine to death. • A handwritten telephone message to Williamson County Sherriff’s Office (WCSO) Sgt. Wood dated two days after the murder reporting that what appeared to be Christine Morton’s missing Visa card was recovered at the Jewel Box store in San Antonio, with a note indicating that a police officer in San Antonio would be able to identify the woman who attempted to use the card. • A report by WCSO officer Traylor that a neighbor had “on several occasions observed a male park a green van on the street behind [the Morton’s] address, then the subject would get out and walk into the wooded area off the road.” • An internal, typewritten WCSO message to Sgt. Wood and follow up correspondence reporting that a check made out to Christine Morton by a man named John B. Cross was cashed with Christine’s forged signature nine days after her murder. The Innocence Project. (Morton's lawyers contend the Williamson County District Attorney at the time, Ken Anderson, withheld evidence that would have exonerated Morton. Lawyers have questioned Anderson, now a district judge, and others involved in the case to determine if there was misconduct involved. That process continues)
"DNA evidence proved Morton's innocence and linked the murder to another man. Now, investigators say the new suspect may have also killed Austinite Debra Baker. Baker was also beaten to death, two years after Christine Morton," the story continues.
"For Baker’s children, Jesse and Caitlin Baker, the recent events have been bittersweet.
"The arrest the other day was not for our mother, so we were all a little conflicted about it," Jesse said.
A bandana found near the crime scene of Christine Morton’s murder matched 57-year-old Mark Alan Norwood. That DNA also matched the previously unknown suspect in Baker's murder.
"It's not done yet, so I am glad [Norwood] is off the street,” Caitlin said. “Of course we don’t know for sure. He is a suspect but he actually hasn't been charged or convicted."
District Judge Ken Anderson was the prosecutor in the Morton trial. He now faces accusations of holding back key evidence which supported Morton's innocence.
Wednesday, Anderson publicly apologized for what he called the "system failure,” leaving the Baker family torn with emotion and confused with the latest development in their mother's case.
Caitlin said she believes if Anderson would have done a more thorough job investigating Christine Morton's murder, her mother may still be alive.
"I did hope for more from that press conference that we didn't get, like an apology, or I thought he was going to resign. That would have been great," she said.
Jesse is more reserved in his search for the truth.
"I have a lot of questions about [Anderson's] involvement in the Morton case and how that has affected us, but I am trying, struggling, to give the process time to see his side of the story before I make a final decision about it," Jesse said.
The Travis County District Attorney's office continues to investigate Debra Baker's murder. Caitlin said she's grateful to both the Travis County DA and the Austin Police Department for their decades of work on the investigation into her mother's death.
Meanwhile, Norwood remains in jail in Williamson County, facing capital murder charges for the death of Christine Morton.
The story - with videos - can be found at:
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at:
http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith
Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at:
http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html
Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog; hlevy15@gmail.com;
