20/20 season 47 episode 22: A detailed case overview
The latest 20/20 season 47 episode 22 presents an in-depth look into the murder of Kari Baker, a Texas mother and Sunday school teacher whose death was initially believed to be a su*cide. The “minister murder” case revolves around Matt Baker, a respected Baptist preacher in Hewitt, Texas, who claimed to find his wife, Kari, lifeless in their bedroom in 2006 while portraying himself as a grieving husband.
However, Kari’s family, convinced something was amiss, launched their own investigation. As 20/20 details, Matt Baker’s carefully crafted facade started to crumble when investigators uncovered a web of deceit and infidelity as per ABC News.
Prosecutors revealed Baker drugged Kari with Ambien and suffocated her with a pillow, later staging the scene to mimic su*cide noted in NBC News, Jan. 22, 2010. The episode features interviews with Kari’s family, law enforcement, and former Texas Ranger Matt Cawthon, who were instrumental in reopening the case and securing Baker’s conviction.
20/20 uses exclusive evidence and testimony to unpack how a trusted minister became the prime suspect in a case that shocked an entire community. This 20/20 episode is scheduled to air on Friday, March 21, from 6:01 to 8:00 p.m. PT.
The night Kari died, Matt told investigators she was grieving their late daughter, leading authorities to swiftly rule it a suicide, as detailed in 20/20
On the night of April 7, 2006, Kari Baker, wife of minister Matt Baker, was found dead in their home in Hewitt, Texas. Matt told investigators that Kari had been struggling with grief over their daughter Kassidy’s death from a brain tumor in 1999, leading authorities to quickly rule her death as suicide.
The episode of 20/20 explores how Kari’s death, initially classified as a suicide based on a typed note and a bottle of sleeping pills at the scene, unraveled into a homicide case that would shock the Baker family’s church community.
According to ABC News, on March 7, 2008, Matt claimed he returned home from renting a movie to find Kari unresponsive with a su*cide note. The justice of the peace ruled it a suicide without visiting the scene or ordering an autopsy. However, Kari’s family doubted this, noting her excitement about a job interview that day.
Their suspicions grew when they learned Matt had given Kari’s phone to Vanessa Bulls, a young parishioner. Further investigation uncovered Matt’s affair and searches for sleep-inducing drugs, as reported by NBC News on January 22, 2010.
The 20/20 episode highlights never-before-seen communications between Matt and Kari, revealing the strains in their marriage. Vanessa Bulls, in later testimony, admitted Matt told her he had smothered Kari after drugging her with sleeping pills, as reported by CBS News, on May 25, 2013. Bulls further claimed that Matt confessed to staging the suicide with a note and planting sleeping pills at the scene.
Authorities reopened the case following the Dulins’ wrongful death lawsuit and the involvement of Texas Ranger Matt Cawthon, who urged for Kari’s body to be exhumed for autopsy. Although the results were inconclusive due to embalming, toxicology reports found traces of Ambien and Unisom in Kari’s system, leading to the classification of her cause of death as undetermined, as per tdcaa.com, March-April 2010.
The 20/20 special, airing Friday, March 21 (9:01-11:00 p.m. EDT) on ABC and streaming on Hulu the following day, examines Matt Baker’s eventual conviction. Jurors sentenced him to 65 years in prison for Kari’s murder after damning testimony from Bulls and evidence of Matt’s online activities.
As baptistnews.com, July 8, 2010, reported, prosecutors argued that Baker used his position as a minister to mask his double life. Kari’s family, in their relentless pursuit for justice, were key in exposing the truth behind her death. The 20/20 broadcast delves into how this tragic case unfolded within a community that once saw Matt Baker as a respected church leader.
Stay tuned for more updates.
