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Suspect says confession coerced Trial isn't likely to start before January for woman accused of killing her husband with an ax By DANI DODGE At a hearing in Jackson County Circuit Court Monday, a Medford woman's attorney tried to suppress her confession that she killed her husband with an ax. Dawn Roble-Baker, 47, of Medford was arrested in April 2000 on a charge that she murdered her husband, Jack Dee Baker. She confessed to the murder last year, but her attorney, David Orf, said the confession was coerced. Judge Daniel Harris did not immediately rule on the suppression request. But he did grant a continuance in the case, and the trial is not expected to start until at least January or February. The case started in March 2000 when a Trail man discovered skeletal remains as he cleared blackberry bushes near his home on Busch Road, about a half-mile east of the Rogue River Lodge on Highway 62. After the body was identified as 45-year-old Baker, police went to talk to Roble-Baker, who had called them a few days earlier. They showed up at her office at OnTrack about 9:30 a.m. April 5, and then took her to Oregon State Police headquarters. By mid-afternoon, Roble-Baker had confessed to killing Baker with an ax, according to court documents. In that interview, Roble-Baker told detectives that she and Baker had gotten in an argument in January 2000 and she tried to leave, according to court documents. But Baker grabbed her coat. She said that Baker then picked up an ax. When she confronted him in the bedroom, he either fell onto the bed or she pushed him. She saw the ax, grabbed it, and hit him in the head, according to court documents. She told detectives she continued to hit him because she thought he was going to get up and that he was going to be mad at her, documents reveal. Roble-Baker said she burned the bloody bedding, put the body in a sleeping bag and dragged it over to a hole in the ground. She covered it with tubing and pipe scattered around the property, according to court documents. At that point in the interview, detectives suggested they continue talking on tape and read Roble-Baker her Miranda rights. After being informed of her right to an attorney, she requested one and the interview was ended at 6:03 p.m. In casual conversation, Roble-Baker told detectives that she felt she was treated well, according to court documents. But Monday in court, Roble-Baker said she felt that the detectives wouldn't let her leave or see her 10-year-old son. "Basically, they were holding (my son) as a hostage," Roble-Baker said. "I could see my son if I confessed." Deputy District Attorney Allan Smith called her claim "ludicrous." Detectives testified that she was free to go at any time during the interview until after she had confessed. Orf said the confession should be suppressed because Roble-Baker was "unconstitutionally seized" from work, held without being read her rights, and because she was coerced. "The facts of this case mandate suppression of the statement," Orf said. But Smith disagreed. "I don't see anything here the officers did wrong," Smith said. "You didn't hear anything indicating someone said she couldn't leave." Roble-Baker has been out of custody since she posted 10 percent of her $130,000 bail in May 2000. She works as an office assistant. Reach reporter Dani Dodge at 776-4471, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.