Jury Acquits Baker In Arson Case
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
John Baker will return to Colorado a free man.
Baker, who turned 36 Monday, got a belated birthday present Thursday afternoon when a jury acquitted him of an arson charge resulting from a Feb. 4, 1997, fire at his residence. At the time of the fire, Baker was living on Wilcox Road, south of Warsaw. He has since moved to Colorado to be near family members. Baker's mother, who is here for the trial from Las Vegas, Nev., hugged her son and cried tears of relief when the verdict came in.
"I'm just going to go and praise God," Mary Hall said after the verdict. "This should have never happened."
The jury of nine women and three men deliberated less than an hour before returning its "not guilty" verdict in Kosciusko Superior Court I.
Defense attorney Jay Rigdon contends that the arson case against Baker was a witch-hunt from the beginning.
"This investigation was prompted by Allstate a day after the fire," Rigdon said. "It's a sign of the good ol' boy network gone bad. They go out and look for an arson and, voil, they find one."
During the two years since the fire occurred, Baker has yet to receive a settlement from his insurance claim and, in September 1997, filed a lawsuit against the insurance company in an attempt collect on his policy.
Rigdon referred to the motto of the insurance company: "You're in good hands with Allstate ... that depends what part of your body the hands are around."
He added: "People are looking to find something and, hence, they find it ... You don't prove that there's arson simply by saying it could happen."
Rigdon claimed Fred Sumpter, an investigator with the State Fire Marshal's Office, didn't file a criminal case against Baker until after the civil lawsuit was filed. Charges were brought against Baker in November 1997.
Rigdon continued his attempts to discredit Sumpter, repeating the fact that he used to work as an investigator for a company representing Allstate and bringing to the attention of the jury that Sumpter had an inappropriate relationship with a witness.
Sumpter admitted during rebuttal testimony Thursday morning that he had an "intimate relationship" with a female witness, who testified against Baker. Sumpter became acquainted with Christina Aldridge, a former girlfriend of Baker, during the investigation.
When asked by Rigdon about the appropriateness of his behavior, Sumpter testified, "It is most definitely unprofessional behavior."
In making their decision, jurors apparently gave credence to Rigdon's closing argument, which began with Rigdon writing the words "not guilty" and "guilty" on a poster board, with an "X" in a box next to "not guilty."
"This is where you start," Rigdon said. "You have to decide to erase the 'X' and move it ... it's not a choice between which one."
In order to move the "X," Rigdon told jurors, they must first look at the evidence presented and at what they believe happened.
To find Baker guilty, Rigdon said, jurors must first believe "that Duane Meeker is full of beans."
Meeker, a forensic engineer with Robson-Lapina Inc. of Indianapolis, testified that the burn patterns on the floor of the utility room were caused from radiant heat vs. an accelerant being poured in the areas designated by other investigators.
Rigdon also said jurors must believe that a videotape showing how fumes can be ignited by the pilot light of a gas water heater "was just a parlor trick." A segment of "Prime Time Live" concerning fires that were started when gasoline fumes came in contact with the flames inside gas water heaters was shown to jurors on Wednesday.
The fire in Baker's home was believed by all parties to have started around or been caused by the water heater. Prosecution witnesses said it was ignited by fumes from a liquid accelerant being poured on the floor, while defense testimony pointed to turpentine fumes from clothing worn and rags used during a home improvement job.
Chief Deputy Prosecutor Byron Tinkey told jurors to consider the time frame involved in extinguishing the fire, while Rigdon said more weight should be given to the time frame in which the fire began. Tinkey said the fact that there wasn't a lot of time between when Baker left the home and when the fire was spotted, there must be a reason it burned so hot so quickly. Rigdon pointed out that the fire, with the turpentine as accelerant and clothing as consumables, had time to burn that hot.
Because part of the state's case was that Baker was experiencing a financial hardship and purposely started the fire to benefit from insurance money, Rigdon said, Baker must be "the dumbest arsonist in the world" because he left $1,500 cash on the counter. Five or six piece of currencies were found partially burned, but the denominations were indistinguishable.
By the same token, Rigdon said, Baker is "the smartest arsonist in the world" because he continued to make improvements to his home and didn't remove any of his important possessions from the home prior to setting it on fire. Baker was preparing the home for sale and recently signed a listing contract with a realtor.
Ending his closing argument, Rigdon told the jury: "I urge you, I implore you ... find John Baker not guilty. Help his nightmare end." [[In-content Ad]]
John Baker will return to Colorado a free man.
Baker, who turned 36 Monday, got a belated birthday present Thursday afternoon when a jury acquitted him of an arson charge resulting from a Feb. 4, 1997, fire at his residence. At the time of the fire, Baker was living on Wilcox Road, south of Warsaw. He has since moved to Colorado to be near family members. Baker's mother, who is here for the trial from Las Vegas, Nev., hugged her son and cried tears of relief when the verdict came in.
"I'm just going to go and praise God," Mary Hall said after the verdict. "This should have never happened."
The jury of nine women and three men deliberated less than an hour before returning its "not guilty" verdict in Kosciusko Superior Court I.
Defense attorney Jay Rigdon contends that the arson case against Baker was a witch-hunt from the beginning.
"This investigation was prompted by Allstate a day after the fire," Rigdon said. "It's a sign of the good ol' boy network gone bad. They go out and look for an arson and, voil, they find one."
During the two years since the fire occurred, Baker has yet to receive a settlement from his insurance claim and, in September 1997, filed a lawsuit against the insurance company in an attempt collect on his policy.
Rigdon referred to the motto of the insurance company: "You're in good hands with Allstate ... that depends what part of your body the hands are around."
He added: "People are looking to find something and, hence, they find it ... You don't prove that there's arson simply by saying it could happen."
Rigdon claimed Fred Sumpter, an investigator with the State Fire Marshal's Office, didn't file a criminal case against Baker until after the civil lawsuit was filed. Charges were brought against Baker in November 1997.
Rigdon continued his attempts to discredit Sumpter, repeating the fact that he used to work as an investigator for a company representing Allstate and bringing to the attention of the jury that Sumpter had an inappropriate relationship with a witness.
Sumpter admitted during rebuttal testimony Thursday morning that he had an "intimate relationship" with a female witness, who testified against Baker. Sumpter became acquainted with Christina Aldridge, a former girlfriend of Baker, during the investigation.
When asked by Rigdon about the appropriateness of his behavior, Sumpter testified, "It is most definitely unprofessional behavior."
In making their decision, jurors apparently gave credence to Rigdon's closing argument, which began with Rigdon writing the words "not guilty" and "guilty" on a poster board, with an "X" in a box next to "not guilty."
"This is where you start," Rigdon said. "You have to decide to erase the 'X' and move it ... it's not a choice between which one."
In order to move the "X," Rigdon told jurors, they must first look at the evidence presented and at what they believe happened.
To find Baker guilty, Rigdon said, jurors must first believe "that Duane Meeker is full of beans."
Meeker, a forensic engineer with Robson-Lapina Inc. of Indianapolis, testified that the burn patterns on the floor of the utility room were caused from radiant heat vs. an accelerant being poured in the areas designated by other investigators.
Rigdon also said jurors must believe that a videotape showing how fumes can be ignited by the pilot light of a gas water heater "was just a parlor trick." A segment of "Prime Time Live" concerning fires that were started when gasoline fumes came in contact with the flames inside gas water heaters was shown to jurors on Wednesday.
The fire in Baker's home was believed by all parties to have started around or been caused by the water heater. Prosecution witnesses said it was ignited by fumes from a liquid accelerant being poured on the floor, while defense testimony pointed to turpentine fumes from clothing worn and rags used during a home improvement job.
Chief Deputy Prosecutor Byron Tinkey told jurors to consider the time frame involved in extinguishing the fire, while Rigdon said more weight should be given to the time frame in which the fire began. Tinkey said the fact that there wasn't a lot of time between when Baker left the home and when the fire was spotted, there must be a reason it burned so hot so quickly. Rigdon pointed out that the fire, with the turpentine as accelerant and clothing as consumables, had time to burn that hot.
Because part of the state's case was that Baker was experiencing a financial hardship and purposely started the fire to benefit from insurance money, Rigdon said, Baker must be "the dumbest arsonist in the world" because he left $1,500 cash on the counter. Five or six piece of currencies were found partially burned, but the denominations were indistinguishable.
By the same token, Rigdon said, Baker is "the smartest arsonist in the world" because he continued to make improvements to his home and didn't remove any of his important possessions from the home prior to setting it on fire. Baker was preparing the home for sale and recently signed a listing contract with a realtor.
Ending his closing argument, Rigdon told the jury: "I urge you, I implore you ... find John Baker not guilty. Help his nightmare end." [[In-content Ad]]