Shivangi Sinha
When the police arrived at Randy Baker’s Colorado home and found him lying unconscious in the hallway, his wife, Kelly Baker, and his elder sister, Carol Baker, were outside, crying and mourning their loss. Initially, Randy’s death was believed to be caused by a heart attack, but it was later ruled a homicide when two bullet wounds were discovered on his body. NBC’s ‘Dateline’ episode ‘The Secret Keepers’ details the police investigation that ultimately identified the killers as Kelly and Carol, revealing how they had enlisted Carol’s son, Kelly Raisley, to commit the murder.
Kelly and Carol Baker Were Each Other’s Confidants
Kelly Baker first met Randy in the late 1990s while working as a hairdresser in Colorado. At that time, Randy was married to Dori Baker and the two doted upon their daughter, Betty Winick. As his marriage began to fall apart, Kelly grew close to Randy. They married in 1999 and soon settled in Greeley, Colorado. Randy had previously suffered permanent heart damage and struggled with drug and alcohol dependency. However, he had turned his life around before marrying Kelly and was working as a drug and alcohol counselor.
Whenever Randy’s health conditions flared up, Kelly rose to the occasion and took care of him. They remained married for about 18 years, but various issues began to arise toward the end. It is alleged that Kelly felt burdened by the care she had to provide for Randy and also found him to be mean. During this time, she grew closer to his elder sister, Carol Baker, and the two often banded together against Randy. According to Betty, the two women frequently joined forces to argue with her father over various issues, creating an unpleasant environment. By 2017, Kelly had even started having an extramarital affair.
Kelly and Carol Baker Asked Kelly Raisley to Commit the Murder
The exact timing of when Kelly and Carol began planning the crime is unclear, but they had several motivations. Randy’s life insurance, worth over $130,000, and his house, which would reportedly go to Kelly, were significant incentives. Kelly contacted Carol, and the two stayed in touch through text messages as they plotted the murder. Carol sent Kelly the number of her son, Kelly Raisley, who had battled drug addiction and had received help from Randy. In fact, on Father’s Day in 2015, Raisley had even sent his uncle a text message thanking him and calling him “the closest person I’ve ever had as a real father figure.” He had a criminal past, having been associated with white supremacist groups and served a prison sentence.
To Kelly, Raisley seemed like the perfect match for the job. She offered him between $10,000 to $13,000 and Randy’s Harley Davidson motorcycle, and he agreed. On the morning of August 16, 2017, Raisley approached Randy as he was coming out of his car and shot him once behind the ear with a .22 caliber and once on the shoulder with a .45 caliber. He then took Randy’s car, cleaned it, and abandoned it in an alley. Carol then listed the car for sale on Facebook, allowing the police to trace her. On the day of the murder, when they had arrived at the scene, both Carol and Kelly were outside the house, howling over their loss.
Carol told the police that she had seen a suspicious man around the house a few days before the incident but did not know anything about it, and Kelly provided a solid alibi. The police were already suspicious, and when they discovered that the two women had exchanged over 4,500 messages in the months following Randy’s June 2017 surgery, they knew something was amiss. They brought all three in for questioning and convinced Carol that Kelly had ratted out her son, Raisley. This led Carol to divulge that Kelly had come up with the idea, while she had merely acted as a mediator since she neither had a close relationship nor cared for her brother. Carol was charged with second-degree murder, while Kelly and Raisley were charged with first-degree murder.
Kelly Baker, Carol Baker, and Kelly Raisley are Serving Their Sentences Today
In May 2018, when Kelly Raisley was informed that he might face the death penalty, he agreed to a plea deal. He admitted to being the one who pulled the trigger and was convicted of first-degree murder of his uncle, Randy Baker. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. As of writing, he is 44 years old and serving his sentence at the Sterling Correctional Facility in Colorado. In September 2018, Carol Baker pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. In January 2019, she was sentenced to 30 years in prison. Currently 70 years old, she is held at the La Vista Correctional Facility in Pueblo, Colorado, with her parole hearing set for 2030.
Kelly Baker’s trial was held in May 2019 after she refused to admit her involvement in the crime. When all the evidence against her was presented, and Raisley testified against her, the jury found her guilty of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder. She was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Currently 54 years old, she is held at the Denver Women’s Correctional Facility and will remain incarcerated for the rest of her life.
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