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 …
Monday, November 5, 2012
Prosecutor and defense lawyers comment on case after Deerfield man is found guilty of murdering a Vernon Hills woman over two years ago.
(Update at 1:50 p.m.) Lake County Judge Daniel Shanes ruled Monday Deerfield native Daniel Baker was guilty but mentally ill in the grisly April 2010 murder of his girlfriend’s mother, Marine Aksman of Vernon Hills. That ruling could mean Baker will spend the rest of his life in prison. Shanes said Baker did not act with premeditation when he repeatedly struck Marina Aksman with a baseball bat in her Vernon Hills home after the victim had called him “bipolar” and told him that she was cutting off the relationship with her daughter, Kristina Aksman, but instead went into a tirade. A guilty but mentally ill verdict means the defendant had issues that impaired his judgment but he was cognizant of what he was doing. “This is truly a sad and …
Saturday, November 3, 2012
Defense argues Daniel Baker was insane when he bludgeoned girlfriend’s Vernon Hills mother to death with baseball bat.
A Lake County Criminal Court judge will decide Monday morning whether a Deerfield man understood he was committing a crime when he beat a Vernon Hills woman to death with a baseball bat more than two years ago, according to a report on ABC Chicago. Lawyers for Daniel Baker of Deerfield argued during closing arguments Friday in Waukegan he did not believe he knew he was doing anything criminal when he struck Marina Aksman of Vernon Hills with a baseball bat killing her April 1, 2010, while her daughter and Baker’s then girlfriend, Kristina Aksman, watched, according to a Daily Herald story. Earlier: Psychiatrist: Baker Was Insane During Attack “There is no reason this young man would have done what he did unless he was insane," Baker …
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 …
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Attorneys for Deerfield man accused of baseball bat murder claim Baker thinks he will go home the day after the trial.
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Tuesday, September 25, 2012
A Deerfield man accused of beating his girlfriend’s mother to death with a baseball bat will undergo another evaluation to determine if he is mentally competent to stand trial for murder Oct. 9, according to a story in the Chicago Tribune. Ed Genson, the attorney for Daniel Baker, 24, of Deerfield reportedly told his lawyer he expects to go home the day after the trial, according to the Tribune article. "The problem is with his cooperation with me," Genson said in the Tribune story. "He'd like a bench trial. We have a problem with him understanding why they (the prosecution) have to put their case on first." According to a Patch article a year ago, Baker was found competent to stand trial. At that time Baker’s attorneys explained he …
Pete Johnson
1:43 pm on Tuesday, November 6, 2012
any updates on the latest death on central ave? was it murder? more ›