BY TANYA ALBERT
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Tracy Baker watches Thursday as the jurors return to the courtroom.
(Tony Jones photo)
| ZOOM |
|
WILMINGTON, Ohio -- Tracey Baker sat with his back straight against his chair and showed almost no emotion Thursday as he was convicted of helping his half brother, Vincent Doan, cover up Carrie Culberson's murder.
After nearly 19 hours of deliberations over three days, seven men and five women found Mr. Baker guilty of tampering with evidence and two counts of obstructing justice in the Blanchester woman's August 1996 disappearance. A sentencing date has not been set. The tense Clinton County courtroom was nearly silent as those verdicts were read. But Ms. Culberson's mother began wiping away tears as a not guilty verdict was read for the gross abuse of a corpse charge, the least of the three charges.
Ms. Culberson's body has never been found.
Before sheriff's deputies handcuffed Mr. Baker, he hugged his attorney and turned around and looked at his parents with wide eyes.
His mother broke down in tears.
"What can I say?" Mr. Baker said. He shrugged and was escorted out of the courtroom in handcuffs.
Jurors did not want to talk about their verdict after the nearly three-week trial. But they apparently believed key testimony from Mr. Baker's estranged wife, Lori Baker, and his ex-girlfriend, Robin Eden.
Assistant prosecuter Richard Moyer lends Carrie Culberson's mother, Debbie Culberson, a shoulder.
(Tony Jones photo)
| ZOOM |
|
Mrs. Baker testified that the night Ms. Culberson, 22, disappeared, Mr. Baker left with seven garbage bags, a gun and Mr. Doan, who is serving a life sentence for the murder. The men returned about two hours later, and Mr. Baker had blood under his fingernails and on his jeans, Harley-Davidson T-shirt and boots, she said.
Ms. Eden testified to several comments Mr. Baker made to her, including a statement that police hadn't even "found the first grave yet."
But prosecutors, Mr. Baker's attorney and Ms. Culberson's mother, Debbie Culberson, were left questioning why jurors came to a not guilty verdict on gross abuse of a corpse.
"To me, it indicates there was some doubt," said Scott J. Frederick, Mr. Baker's attorney, who said he was devastated. "If you believe the first three counts, the fourth is a given."
But Clinton County Prosecutor William Peelle disagreed. None of the other counts required that something disrespectful was done to the body, he said.
"Did they decide the body is buried? That Vincent Doan acted alone? Or did the state fail to prove gross abuse?" Mr. Peelle asked after the verdict.
Mrs. Culberson said she was pleased with the verdict, but couldn't understand how jurors didn't find him guilty on all the charges. "My definition of gross abuse is that she was not given a Christian burial," a tearful Mrs. Culberson said after the verdict. "We have no gravesite to visit."
After nearly two years and two trials, the question, "Where is Carrie Culberson's body?" is left unanswered.
Mr. Peelle said prosecutors would be willing to talk about reducing Mr. Baker's sentence -- a maximum of 15 years in prison -- if he tells them where the body is.
"If the defense wants to propose that, we'll sit down and talk," Mr. Peelle said. "But the defense attorney hasn't said anything throughout the case."
Two more trials connected to Ms. Culberson's murder are scheduled for later this year. Lawrence Baker, Mr. Doan's and Mr. Baker's father, is charged with obstructing justice and tampering with evidence. He had no comment after Thursday's verdict.
Blanchester Police Chief Richard Payton will face charges of obstructing justice and dereliction of duty in connection with the way he handled the investigation.
Mrs. Culberson will be in Clinton County Common Pleas Court for both trials. She wants to see whether she will finally get the information she's desperately wanted for nearly two years: the location of her daughter's body.
"All I want is to find Carrie," she said. "Hopefully someone will tell something."
