What happened to Judy Baldwin? Details explored ahead of Accident, Suicide, or Murder on Oxygen
Season 5 episode 17 of Accident, Suicide, or Murder on Oxygen will replay the death of Chester County, South Carolina resident Judy Baldwin.
Judy Baldwin was beaten to death by her husband James Baldwin in 2016. James did everything he could to convince authorities that his wife had died in an accident, but the truth was eventually discovered.
The Accident, Suicide, Murder episode that will focus on this homicide is titled Lost Control. It will air on Oxygen on January 5 at 10 pm ET. The logline for the same reads:
"A dodged coroner and newly appointed prosecutor join forces to uncover the truth."
According to James Baldwin, Judy Baldwin was thrown from her vehicle in a collision
As reported by Oxygen True Crime, on the night of December 14, 2016, James Baldwin claimed that his wife was “ejected from the vehicle” during a fatal crash. Judy was discovered by the driver's side door when the first responders got there, which the detectives thought was unusual.
Although Judy Baldwin was ejected from the vehicle when it crashed, she did not have broken bones or any major injuries that car crash victims have. As per OTC, there was no damage to the windshield of Judy’s jeep or the dashboard, although James claimed that he and his wife were involved in a car crash.
During interrogation, James told the police that his wife had stumbled and fallen off the ladder while decorating the Christmas tree, striking her head on the mantle. After this accident, Judy needed medical supervision and while James was driving her to the hospital someone ran him off the road.
Given that the ladder was on the ground and there was blood near the Christmas tree at the Baldwin home, the police found James's account of Judy sliding down the ladder, and hitting her head credible.
Judy’s autopsy report stated that she had a “large crack to her skull” as per OTC. A fall from the ladder could not have caused an injury like that to Judy, which was when the detectives started to doubt James’s story.
James also told the cops that Judy supposedly didn't like the hospital that was closest to them, and therefore the hospital he was driving her to was thirty minutes from their house.
Multiple motives were discovered
As the investigations progressed, it was quickly determined that James and Judy had family problems and were not a happy pair. James allegedly had an affair with a woman named Teri King and struggled with anger issues.
James also took out a $25,000 accidental life insurance policy on Judy six months before she passed away. James was the beneficiary, thus in the event that his wife accidentally died, he would receive the entire amount, which could have been a driving force behind the murder.
James Baldwin was arrested and sentenced for Judy Baldwin’s death
When the vehicle in which Judy was discovered was sent to forensics, the Jeep's module showed that there had been no collision or accident. Following this assessment, it was established that James's account of the collision and Judy's death after falling from the automobile were untrue.
The alleged murder weapon, which was a Santa stocking holder was also discovered and forensics confirmed that it was used to kill Judy. Detectives hypothesized that someone had broken Judy's head with a hard object, causing blood to spread everywhere, as evidenced by the blood spots on the top of the Christmas tree.
Forensics declared Judy Baldwin's death to be a homicide and not an accident as per OTC, after which James Baldwin was sentenced to life behind bars without chances of parole in 2019.
To learn more about this case watch Season 5 episode 17 of Accident, Suicide, or Murder on Oxygen. It airs on January 5 at 10:00 pm ET.
