Brook Baker
Real Name: Brook Elizabeth Baker
Nicknames: No known nicknames
Location: Vincennes, Indiana
Date: September 7, 1997
Case[]
Details: Nineteen-year-old Brook Baker was a journalism major and sophomore at Vincennes University in Indiana. She was ambitious and hoped to become a top-flight journalist one day. Tragically, on September 7, 1997, her brother found her dead in her bed in her off-campus apartment. She had been brutally raped and stabbed to death. Although there were no signs of forced entry, there was evidence of a violent struggle between her and her assailant. Oddly, the water was still running from the bathtub faucet. As investigators began looking into the case, they discovered three possible theories as to who would kill her.
The first theory involved Brook's participation in journalism at Vincennes. There, she became very active with the campus newspaper. In spring 1997, she was investigating an alleged date rape that occurred at a local fraternity. She interviewed several women who had run-ins with the fraternity members. However, they disliked her investigation into the case. They threatened her verbally and with emails.
Brook was unfazed, but her mother, Janet Baker, was concerned about her safety. She responded that she was writing the story to keep others from becoming victims. A few weeks before she was killed, she was at a friend's house when a truck full of frat brothers arrived and threatened her. In order to feel safer, she moved to a new off-campus apartment in which the landlord was a campus police officer.
The second theory was that the landlord was responsible. Brook told her friends and family that he would come into her apartment unannounced at various times. One night, while she was sleeping, he shone a light inside. On another night, he came in while she was in the shower. She told multiple people that she was uncomfortable about the situation. Investigators believed that he may have let himself in on the night of her murder. They had a confrontation, and she was killed as a result.
A third possible theory involving Brook's death was that a person posing as a potential roommate killed her. Just days before, she had placed an ad in the campus newspaper for a roommate for her apartment. Investigators believe that her killer may have read it and went there, claiming to be a potential roommate. They believe that she then let him in and he killed her. This theory is supported by the fact that there was no evidence of forced entry in her apartment.
Meanwhile, investigators began looking into the physical evidence they had in the case. They tested DNA samples found on Brook with more than fifty suspects, but none of them matched. More recently, investigators have been looking to question her cousin about the case. She had been staying with Brook, but moved to California one week before her murder. She has reportedly been unwilling to answer any questions from investigators. It is not known what information she may have on the case. Brook's parents, along with other family and friends, are hoping for answers in it.
Suspects: Investigators suspected the frat brothers where an alleged date rape occurred that Brook was investigating were involved in her murder. Another possible suspect was her bizarre landlord. They also looked into the possibility that her killer posed as a potential roommate, answering her ad. However, none of the theories could be confirmed.
Extra Notes:
- This case first aired on the April 2, 1999 episode.
- It was also documented on Motives & Murders: Cracking the Case and Six Degrees of Murder after it was resolved.
Brian Jones
Results: Solved. On July 5, 1999, investigators searched the apartment of missing Vincennes college student Erika Norman, and were shocked to discover a nearly identical crime scene to Brook's, including water running from the bathtub faucet. However, her body was not found in her apartment. A man named Brian Jones was soon brought in for questioning after investigators learned that she was last seen alive with him. After interviewing him, investigators learned that he was a roommate of a man who was dating Brook before her murder. He gave the police a DNA sample and it was found to have conclusively matched semen found on her body and DNA under her fingernails. He was then arrested and charged with her murder.
When Erika's body was found two weeks later, Brian pleaded guilty to her murder, and in exchange the death penalty could not be used at Brook's trial. At it, it also came out that on the day after her murder, he had been seen with scratches on his face. Also, shortly before it, he rented a movie about stabbing a girl to death and washing the knife in a sink. On December 14, 2000, he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for Brook and Erika's murders.
Sadly, Brook's mother, Janet Baker, passed away in 2004.
Links:
- Brook Baker on Unsolved Archive
- College student murdered - September 9, 1997
- Vincennes student stabbed - October 22, 1997
- 'If It Can Happen Here, It Can Happen Anywhere' - December 2, 1997
- Mourners Remember Slain Student A Year After Murder - September 8, 1998
- Student's Murder A Year Ago Raises Campus Safety Concerns - September 8, 1998
- Frustration mixed with determination fills student's unsolved death (Page 1) (Page 2) - June 13, 1999
- Man Held in '97 Slaying Of Vincennes Student - July 14, 1998
- A life forever changed by rumors - July 25, 1999
- Indiana man pleads guilty in strangling of student - August 19, 2000
- Man receives 80-year sentence in student's death - September 9, 2000
- Opening arguments begin in slaying trial - December 5, 2000
- Evansville man convicted in Vincennes University student death - December 14, 2000
- Jones v. State (2002)
- Brook Baker on Find a Grave