Document text
53 °F Forecast | Road Cams Friday, January 28, 2005 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Wellness Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Real Estate Guide Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People Volunteer Opportunities Moving to Southern Oregon? MARKETPLACE Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Classifieds Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend March 23, 2004 Family of dead baby backs dad By SARAH LEMON Mail Tribune The family of a murdered baby appeared in court Monday in support of the man charged in the case — the child’s father. Implicated in the slaying of his 7-month-old son, 20-year-old Ernest Harold Baker III heard the charge of aggravated murder Monday in Jackson County Circuit Court. Ernest Harold Baker IV died Saturday at Rogue Valley Medical Center after physicians treated him for a severe cut on his neck. If convicted of the crime, the father could be put to death. Appearing in court with a bandage covering a cut on his own neck, Baker said he didn’t understand what happened or what was going on when Circuit Court Judge Ray White asked him if he understood the charge. "He is just totally out of character," said Baker’s uncle, Charles Baker, after the hearing. "He is so mellow and gentle-hearted. He was a real good little dad." Ernest Baker III has always avoided conflict, his family said, and even dropped out of school to avoid fights with other kids. Baker lived most of his life in Medford with his mother, Mary Smith. But in recent months, he had taken his son and the baby’s mother to live near the city of Rogue River with his father, Ernest Baker Jr. Advertisement The baby’s mother, 20-year-old D’Ann Eloise Honea, spent the afternoon talking to detectives and did not attend the hearing. Baker’s parents and sister were accompanied in court Monday by several of his former teachers and members of the family’s church. Police so far have offered little explanation of the crime. Sheriff’s deputies were called at 1:52 p.m. Saturday to investigate a reported assault at the Baker home in the 2900 block of Wards Creek Road. Before sheriff’s deputies arrived, the child’s mother apparently drove him to Rogue River, and he was taken to RVMC. Sheriff Mike Winters said the baby’s father was taken into custody at 6:46 p.m. Saturday and treated at RVMC for the cut on his neck. He was kept in the hospital overnight for observation and lodged in the Jackson County Jail after physicians released him from the hospital. Police Saturday also arrested the baby’s uncle, 18-year-old Ryan Wayne Honea, who became violent at the hospital when a nurse informed him of his nephew’s death, said Medford police Lt. Mike Moran. Honea was jailed on charges of first-degree criminal mischief and disorderly conduct after he punched a wall and started fighting with hospital security staff, Moran said. Family friend Jesse Lee Hawks, 20, was taken from the hospital to the county’s sobering center in Medford. Both he and Honea were extremely intoxicated, police reported. Beth Heckert, chief deputy district attorney for Jackson County, said she has not decided if she will seek the death penalty in the case, the county’s first murder this year. The victim’s age is the only factor in the aggravated murder charge against Baker, said Heckert. Aggravated murder — Oregon’s only crime subject to the death penalty — applies to the murder of children younger than 14, and to several other scenarios, including killing police officers, killing more than one person in the same crime, killing to cover up a crime and intentionally maiming or torturing the victim. The case will go before a grand jury this week, Heckert said. Baker remained in jail Monday without bail. Reach reporter Sarah Lemon at 776-4487, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities Student Loan Consolidation Conference Calls - $50/Month Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker, Trunk, Footlockers