The Murder of Brook Baker
Warning, this case discusses murder and sexual assault.
For this case, I watched an episode of Six Degrees of Murder. It’s season 1 episode 6, titled ‘Crime Writer.’
A 19-year-old journalism student is killed in her off campus home.
Background
Brook Elizabeth Baker grew up in the small town of Vincennes, Indiana. Brook always had dreams of becoming a writer. She came from a low income family, and was the first person in her family to attend college.
In August 1996, Brook was accepted into Vincennes University, which is the oldest college in Indiana. Brook had written for her high school newspaper, and was just starting a 2-year journalism program at Vincennes to write for the university’s newspaper, The Trailblazer.
Brook was described as very ambitious and had big dreams. She was also very outgoing and made friends easily.
Brook Baker
The Story
When Brook first came to Vincennes, she had been staying with a friend and a few of his friends. Brook was also seeing another student, but was more focused on her journalism career than she was about dating.
Brook wanted to look into harder pieces for the school newspaper. She really wanted to focus on the fraternities on campus. The fraternities had a lot of power on campus, but didn’t have the best reputations.
Brook had learned about a sexual assault and cover up that had occurred at one of the fraternities. Several of Brook’s friends were members of this fraternity, and most of them were resistant to talk about the story.
Brook had learned the identity of the woman that had reported the sexual assault. The woman had first agreed to talk to Brook, but eventually backed out due to the pressure from the fraternity members.
Many of Brook’s friends were worried about her looking into the story, but Brook refused to give up the story.
The Crime Scene
In July 1997, Brook moved out of her friend’s place, and moved into an off campus house.
On Sunday, July 7, 1997, Brook’s brother had let himself into her house with his key. He often visited her at school, and the two were very close.
He called out to Brook, but there was no answer. He heard the water in the bathroom running, and turned it off. He walked further into the house, and made a horrific discovery.
Brook was found by her brother on a mattress in her bedroom. She was found naked, and had been stabbed 11 times in the back and twice in the chest. The police immediately believed that Brook had been sexually assaulted, and that she had known her killer. There had been no sign of forced entry.
The killer had attempted to clean up the scene. A towel was found in the bathtub, a bottle of bleach and two empty bottles of dishwashing liquid were also found. The murder weapon was found in the kitchen sink with blood still on it.
The police were able to collect a semen sample and sent it in for testing.
The Suspects
Brook’s brother was distraught after he had found his sister. He eventually calmed down, and was able to tell the police that his sister had been seeing another student. Brook’s boyfriend said that he and Brook had been at a party the night before her body was found. He said Brook had left, and he stayed behind at the party. The police couldn’t verify his alibi as he and most of his friends had been drinking.
The police spoke to Brook’s journalism teacher and peers to see if they knew of any other suspects. The police learned about her story and research into the fraternities on campus.
Brook’s friend told the police that the members of the fraternity were angry at Brook. They had left a threatening note on her door at her house. The police interviewed several members of the fraternity. Brook’s two friends were also suspects, and more of these members were added as suspects everyday.
There was also another person that a key to Brook’s house: her landlord. He worked as a campus police officer. Brook had been worried about him after he had shown up uninvited before. There were allegations against him. Women had come forward to say that he would spy and watch them on campus.
He had once entered Brook’s house after she had just gotten out of the shower. He was interviewed, but he denied entering without having a valid reason. He said he had entered the house to spray it for bugs. He said he had been at work all night on the night of Brook’s murder.
The police still had the killer’s DNA. The landlord and Brook’s boyfriend were both eliminated as suspects. The police turned back to the members of the fraternity. There were about 65 males that had provided DNA samples. Sadly, none of them were a match.
Another Murder
Brook’s case went completely cold, until July 1999.
On July 5, 1999, the police responded to the apartment of another Vincennes University student named Erika Norman.
Erika Norman
Erika’s crime scene was eerily similar to Brook’s. There was no sign of forced entry. There was blood on the walls, a broken lamp, and overturned table. A pair of bloody shorts were also found.
In the bathroom, the police found a bottle of bleach and couch cushions in the bathtub. The bath had also been running, just like it had been in Brook’s house. Erika’s body hadn’t been found in her apartment.
The police learned that Erika had been at a bar the night before she died. She had been with a man named Brian Jones. The same Brian Jones that Brook had been friends with.
Brian’s DNA sample from Brook’s case was checked again. However, Brian had never given the police a sample. Brian had left the area shortly after Brook was killed, but had returned in 1999.
The Arrest
Brian was brought into the station for questioning. He was very cooperative. He admitted to being at the bar with Erika, and went back to her apartment to watch a movie. He said she had fallen asleep, so he left. Brian allowed the police to search his car and house, and gave a sample of his DNA.
Brian’s sample was compared to the sample found at Brook’s crime scene. It was a match. Brian was arrested, and stopped cooperating after his arrest.
A week after his arrest, Erika’s body was found in a cornfield in Illinois. Brian pled guilty to killing Erika, but went on trial for Brook’s murder.
It’s believed that Brian had been in the area near Brook’s house. He had gone there after a party, and was let in. It’s never been confirmed, but many believe that Brian had wanted to have sex with Brook, but she said no. Brian became angry, and raped and killed Brook. He then attempted to clean up the crime scene.
On December 14, 2000, Brian was sentenced to life without parole for both murders.
Brian Jones
FINAL THOUGHTS
It’s so sad that two women had to die to finally get this animal off the streets. They had their whole lives ahead of them, and were killed because Brian felt rejected. Brook wasn’t willing to go down without a fight with her investigation, and probably when trying to fight back against Brian. I hope he is rotting in his cell right now.
Sources
https://unsolvedmysteries.fandom.com/wiki/Brook_Baker
https://vutrailblazernews.com/1836/features/25-years-later-remembering-brook-baker/
