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http://www.omniture.com --> Email Story to a Friend June 13, 2006 High court overturns ax slaying conviction By SARAH LEMON Mail Tribune The Oregon Supreme Court has overturned a Trail woman's 2002 conviction for killing her husband, ruling that police illegally elicited her confession. Dawn Ellen Roble-Baker's confession is not admissible in a new trial, Supreme Court justices decided. Jackson County District Attorney Mark Huddleston said Monday that he has not determined whether enough evidence remains to retry Roble-Baker once the case returns to Jackson County Circuit Court. She remains in Coffee Creek Correctional Facility in Wilsonville. "We're disappointed in the outcome," Huddleston said, noting the Oregon Court of Appeals previously upheld Roble-Baker's conviction without issuing an opinion. Detectives failed to advise Roble-Baker of her Miranda rights, the Supreme Court ruled, before she admitted to killing her husband, 45-year-old Jack Baker, with an ax in 1997. A neighbor clearing blackberries discovered his remains in 2000. Contending that she killed her husband in self-defense, Roble-Baker pleaded no contest to first-degree manslaughter in April 2002. Circuit Court Judge Daniel Harris sentenced her to a mandatory 10 years in prison. During his interview with Roble-Baker, Medford Police Detective Terry Newell "created the sort of police-dominated atmosphere that Miranda warnings were intended to counteract," according to the Supreme Court's opinion, issued May 25. Newell asked Roble-Baker questions that assumed her guilt, judges said, including "Did he Baker deserve that?" Roble-Baker responded "no," admitted to killing her husband and agreed to a taped interview with Newell and other investigators — about five or six hours after arriving at Oregon State Police headquarters in Central Point. But once advised of her right to an attorney, Roble-Baker stopped talking. High court judges suppressed everything Roble-Baker said after Newell asked whether her husband deserved to die at her hands. "We're all real well-versed in the law," Newell said Monday. "And sometimes in an interrogation or an interview things can change so quickly ... I made that decision in a matter of seconds." Although detectives never explicitly told Roble-Baker she was not free to leave OSP headquarters, they created an environment in which she was compelled to remain, Supreme Court judges said. Investigators had picked up Roble-Baker from her job at Addictions Recovery Center in west Medford. Roble-Baker twice asked to suspend the interview and when she sought refuge from investigators in the station's smoking area, they pursued her, judges said. The case is Jackson County's second within the past six months reversed on grounds that police violated suspects' rights. In December, the Oregon Court of Appeals granted 33-year-old Edwin Shane Coen, of Jacksonville, a new trial on his 2002 convictions for second-degree manslaughter and driving under the influence. Appellate judges said Oregon State Police Trooper Jeff Allison illegally compelled Coen to take blood and urine tests and to talk about the Feb. 13, 2002, crash that killed 58-year-old Burke McNulty Thompson of Ruch. Reach reporter Sarah Lemon at 776-4487, or e-mail [email protected] . Advertisement s Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2006 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback www.bingo.com Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker Custom Build Computers Discount Hotel Reservations --> online casinos news Ashley Furniture HomeStore Send Flowers California Casinos GMAT Prep Windermere Van Vleet Sports Equipment Online Casino Reviews Entertainment Guide --> Online Casino Fundraisers Sudoku Online Casinos Canada Online Pharmacy