Friday, May 17, 2013
Former Deerfield resident Daniel Baker, who bludgeoned a Vernon Hills woman to death with a baseball bat, will serve his entire 47-year sentence.
- POLICE & FIRE
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Friday, May 17
Lake County Circuit Court Judge Daniel Shanes is standing by the 47-year sentence imposed on former Deerfield resident Daniel Baker, reported the Lake County News-Sun. Baker, who did not appear in court Friday for the hearing, was convicted last November of using a baseball bat to bludgeon to death 50-year-old Marina Aksman, of Vernon Hills, after she encouraged her daughter, Kristina, to break up with him, reported Patch. Judge Shanes also would not reconsider the finding that Baker was mentally fit to understand the court proceedings, according to the News-Sun. "The court found this case to be one of extreme and needless violence — truly senseless destruction. Indeed, the court found the evidence showed the defendant’s behavior was …
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Defense attorneys for the former Deerfield man who bludgeoned his girlfriend's mother to death with a baseball bat in April 2010, will appeal the sentence.
Deemed mentally fit to understand the sentence he would receive for the April 2010 murder of his then-girlfriend's mother, Daniel Baker, formerly of Deerfield, was given 47 years imprisonment Monday, reported the Chicago Tribune. Baker was convicted last November of using a baseball bat to bludgeon to death 50-year-old Marina Aksman, of Vernon Hills, after she encouraged her daughter, Kristina, to break up with him. After the murder, the couple fled to Montana, where Baker was arrested and confessed what he had done to investigators, reported the Daily Herald. At his November 2012 bench trial, Judge Daniel Shanes ruled Baker was mentally ill and did not act with premeditation when killing Marina Aksman, but that he understood what he was …
Monday, April 8, 2013
Sentencing for a Deerfield man found guilty of murdering a Vernon Hills woman with a baseball bat will be delayed until May to determine his mental fitness.
A May 6 court hearing has been scheduled for Daniel Baker, 24, of Deerfield, to determine if he can understand the possible sentence for his murder conviction, reports the Daily Herald. In a report filed by psychiatrists, Baker said he believed he was convicted because "the judge was sleeping in court and that he may have a cocaine problem," reported the Lake County News-Sun. Baker was convicted last November of the April 2010 murder of Marina Aksman, of Vernon Hills, the mother of his then girlfriend, reported Patch. At his bench trial, Judge Daniel Shanes ruled Baker was mentally ill and did not act with premeditation when killing Aksman, but that he understood what he was doing. On Monday, Shanes granted the defense's request to …
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Lawyer for Deerfield man convicted of beating a Vernon Hills woman to death with a baseball bat again asks judge to consider Baker’s competence.
Sentencing for a Deerfield man convicted of beating a Vernon Hills woman to death nearly three years ago was delayed a second time Tuesday when the judge ordered a mental fitness evaluation after a request by his attorney, according to a Chicago Tribune story. Daniel Baker of Deerfield was convicted of murdering Marina Aksman, of Vernon Hills, the mother of his then girlfriend, Nov. 5 by Lake County Criminal Court Judge Daniel Shanes, according to coverage by Patch. “I’m not finding a bona fide doubt as to fitness,” Shanes said in the Tribune story. “It can’t hurt to have another opinion.” With that, he ordered a review of Baker’s competency and continued the case until March 20. When Shanes convicted Baker in a bench trial Nov. 5, he …
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
Convicted Deerfield murderer writes own motion claiming his former girlfriend killed her mother, not him.
A Deerfield man convicted Nov. 5 of beating a Vernon Hills woman to death with a baseball bat in April, 2010, now claims the victim’s daughter, his former girlfriend, committed the crime, according to an article in the Chicago Tribune. Daniel Baker, 24, of Deerfield filed a motion in his own handwriting maintaining his innocence in court today which was presented by his attorney, Ed Genson, according to a report in the Daily Herald. The eight-page document was titled, “Not Guilty.” Earlier: Nerheim Appoints Special Prosecutor in Baker Case Baker was scheduled for sentencing Wednesday but Judge Daniel Shanes postponed that hearing when the motion was presented, according to an article in the Lake County News Sun. Shanes told the parties to …
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Sentencing set Jan. 9. Deerfield man who killed Vernon Hills woman could be sentenced to life in prison.
Lake County Criminal Court Judge Daniel Shanes refused to give new trial to a Deerfield man convicted Nov. 5 of bludgeoning the Vernon Hills mother of his girlfriend to death, according to an article in the Daily Herald. Shanes discarded the defense of Daniel Baker of Deerfield that his fit of rage when he beat Marina Aksman to death with a baseball bat on April 10, 2010, was criminal insanity. “Based upon the evidence in this case, the defense counsel in this case left no stone unturned,” Shanes said in a Lake County News Sun story. “The defense was full, vigorous and complete. There is nothing in the record to indicate this defense could have done differently.” After Shanes denied a motion brought by Baker’s attorneys, Ed Genson and …
Thursday, October 25, 2012
After Deerfield man declines to testify in the murder of a Vernon Hills woman, a rebuttal witness for the prosecution countered defense claim Michael Baker was not sane at the time of the crime.
Daniel Baker, a Deerfield man accused of beating Vernon Hills resident Marina Aksman to death with a baseball bat over two years ago was called sane by a prosecution expert witness after he chose not to testify in his own defense Wednesday, according to the Chicago Tribune. Baker has asked to testify each day of his trial, now in its second week, but when he had the opportunity Wednesday he chose to invoke his right not to testify against himself under the United States Constitution, according to a report on WGN. “I have my rights in tact here,” Baker said in the WGN story. Earlier: Psychiatrist: Baker Was Insane During Attack Before Baker testified, Psychiatrist Alexander Obolsky told the court Baker was insane at the time police say he …
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Defense witness tells court Deerfield’s Daniel Baker did not know what he was doing when he beat Marina Aksman of Vernon Hills to death over two years ago.
Defense lawyers painted a picture of Daniel Baker Monday as a person who heard voices, has a variety of mental disorders and did not know what he was doing when he bludgeoned a Vernon Hills woman to death more than two years ago, according to an article in the Chicagoist. Baker, of Deerfield, is in the second week of his trial for the murder of Marina Aksman of Vernon Hills in Lake County Court in Waukegan. Psychiatrist Alexander Obolsky was the first defense witness. He testified Baker has a pair of personality disorders and a cognitive disability that left him insane at the time of the attack, according to a report in the Chicago Sun Times. Earlier: Update: Baker’s DNA Found on Baseball Bat, Witness Says “He has many strange and bizarre …
Thursday, October 18, 2012
Earlier: Kristina Aksman tells how Daniel Baker of Deerfield hit her mother with a baseball bat.
(Update at 10:45 p.m.) A witness in the Daniel Baker murder trial testified today the Deerfield man’s DNA was found on the handle of the baseball bat prosecutors claim was used to kill Vernon Hills woman Marina Aksman, according to a second story in the Daily Herald. Kelley Lawrence of the Northern Illinois Crime Lab also told the court the driver’s side air bag that inflated on Baker’s car when he crashed it into Aksman’s home contained both his DNA and that of his then girlfriend and Aksman’s daughter, Kristina Aksman, according to the Daily Herald. (Earlier at 1:25 p.m.) The former girlfriend of a Deerfield man accused of beating her Vernon Hills mother to death with a baseball bat told Lake County Criminal Court Judge Daniel Shanes how…
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Defense claims Deerfield man did not know what he was doing when he beat a Vernon Hills woman to death. Prosecutors offer evidence of intent.
Neither prosecutors nor defense lawyers disagree Daniel Baker bludgeoned Marina Aksman of Vernon Hills to death with a baseball bat over two years ago or has mental health issues, but evidence they present on the legal definition of insanity may well determine the Deerfield man’s fate, according to a story in the Chicago Tribune. Opening arguments were Tuesday. Defense attorneys led by Ed Genson argued a “tragic, perfect storm” of events culminated in Baker not realizing his attack of Aksman was wrong, according to reports in the Daily Herald. Genson said he would prove Baker did not appreciate the criminality of his actions. Assistant Lake County State’s Attorney Patricia Fix claims Baker knew what he was doing because Aksman was trying …
McCloud
11:56 am on Tuesday, April 30, 2013
He'll be out in twenty, don't worry though, by then the libs will have banned baseball bats. more ›