Mark Norwood arrested in 1986 Murder of Christine Morton(Murder Conviction)

[MuffyBee]

Anderson the FAT CAT got off easy on a plea bargain imo.  The criminal charges for tampering with evidence were dropped.  He should have been held accountable, again.  This dude already made his pile of money, already had all the years to enjoy the benefits of one in power so losing his license is nothing.  Four days in jail?  Cheap.  He wanted to be so hard on crime, what's good for the goose is good for the gander.  JMHO

http://www.statesman.com/news/news/ken-andersons-law-license-officially-canceled/nbxtf/
Ken Anderson’s law license officially canceled
November 19, 2013

The Texas Supreme Court canceled Ken Anderson’s law license Tuesday.
Anderson had agreed to give up his law license to settle a civil lawsuit, filed by the State Bar of Texas, that accused him of professional misconduct in his prosecution of Michael Morton in 1986-87.
In an order signed by all nine justices, the Supreme Court determined that accepting Anderson’s resignation was “in the best interest of the public and the profession.”
“The court deems the professional misconduct (of Anderson) conclusively established for all purposes,” the order read. “Ken Anderson must immediately surrender his state bar card and Texas law license to the clerk of the Supreme Court of Texas.”
Without a license, Anderson is barred from practicing law, giving legal advice or describing himself as an attorney.
Anderson, Williamson County’s district attorney for 16 years before he became a state district judge in 2002, recently spent four days in jail after being found in contempt of court for telling Morton’s trial judge in 1987 that he had no favorable evidence to provide the defense. Such evidence was later found in Anderson’s trial file.
Morton served almost 25 years in prison before he was released in 2011 when DNA evidence pointed to another man, Mark Norwood, for the 1986 murder of his wife, Christine Morton.
Anderson resigned as judge in September as part of an agreement to accept the contempt of court finding and give up his law license. Criminal charges accusing him of tampering with evidence in the Morton case were dropped.

[Sister]

Anderson the FAT CAT got off easy on a plea bargain imo.  The criminal charges for tampering with evidence were dropped.  He should have been held accountable, again.  This dude already made his pile of money, already had all the years to enjoy the benefits of one in power so losing his license is nothing.  Four days in jail?  Cheap.  He wanted to be so hard on crime, what's good for the goose is good for the gander.  JMHO

http://www.statesman.com/news/news/ken-andersons-law-license-officially-canceled/nbxtf/
Ken Anderson’s law license officially canceled
November 19, 2013

The Texas Supreme Court canceled Ken Anderson’s law license Tuesday.
Anderson had agreed to give up his law license to settle a civil lawsuit, filed by the State Bar of Texas, that accused him of professional misconduct in his prosecution of Michael Morton in 1986-87.
In an order signed by all nine justices, the Supreme Court determined that accepting Anderson’s resignation was “in the best interest of the public and the profession.”
“The court deems the professional misconduct (of Anderson) conclusively established for all purposes,” the order read. “Ken Anderson must immediately surrender his state bar card and Texas law license to the clerk of the Supreme Court of Texas.”
Without a license, Anderson is barred from practicing law, giving legal advice or describing himself as an attorney.
Anderson, Williamson County’s district attorney for 16 years before he became a state district judge in 2002, recently spent four days in jail after being found in contempt of court for telling Morton’s trial judge in 1987 that he had no favorable evidence to provide the defense. Such evidence was later found in Anderson’s trial file.
Morton served almost 25 years in prison before he was released in 2011 when DNA evidence pointed to another man, Mark Norwood, for the 1986 murder of his wife, Christine Morton.
Anderson resigned as judge in September as part of an agreement to accept the contempt of court finding and give up his law license. Criminal charges accusing him of tampering with evidence in the Morton case were dropped.

BBM
Absolutely agree Muffy.

I bet he didn't lose his pension or other benefits.  That would make it too much like justice.  He should have to be accountable financially also to Mr. Morton.

[MuffyBee]

http://www.statesman.com/news/news/crime-law/mark-norwood-pleads-not-guilty-in-second-capital-m/nchdB/
Mark Norwood pleads not guilty in second capital murder case
January 9, 2013


Debra Baker

Mark Norwood has pleaded not guilty to capital murder in the 1988 death of Debra Masters Baker, Travis County officials said Thursday.
The plea comes less than a year after the former carpet layer and construction worker was convicted in March for the 1986 killing of Christine Morton in southwestern Williamson County. Morton’s husband, Michael Morton, was wrongfully convicted in his wife’s death and spent 25 years in prison before he was exonerated by DNA evidence in 2011.
Norwood, 59, has been sentenced to life in prison but will be eligible for parole after serving 15 years because of laws that were in effect when the crime took place.
Court officials said the state will now wait for a response to Norwood’s appeal in the Williamson case before setting a trial date in Travis. In the meantime, the state will be compiling an inventory of evidence presented in Norwood’s first murder trial to be handed over to the defense.
Norwood was transferred from the state prison in Rusk, in East Texas, to appear in court. He is scheduled for another hearing March 28.
More...


Mark Alan Norwood

[MuffyBee]

The article below is a couple of months old, but has a lot of information, including his relationship with his son Eric (aged 3 at time of his mother's murder) while in prison and after.  There's a number of videos also.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/12/04/justice/exonerated-prisoner-update-michael-morton/?sr=google_news&google_editors_picks=true
Innocent man: How inmate Michael Morton lost 25 years of his life
December 4, 2014

Videos at Link

[MuffyBee]

http://kxan.com/2014/07/03/morton-memoir-details-injustice-new-life/
Morton memoir details injustice, new life
July 3, 2014

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Michael Morton’s life among the trees on an East Texas lake is a little slice of Heaven now, but his new memoir, ‘Getting Life,’ details a 25-year Hell in heartbreaking detail.

“I think I wrote it for a couple of reasons, one to show people what I went through,” Morton said. “And also, it’s kind of I can like hand it to my son and it’s like “you were in this, but you didn’t know it.”

Morton’s son, Eric, was only three years old when his mother was killed and his father wrongfully convicted of her murder and sentenced to life in prison. Eventually, his mother’s sister adopted Eric, who decided as a teenager, he no longer wanted a relationship with his father, a moment Morton details in his new memoir.
 
His son is a central theme in the book, in which Morton talks in more detail about his relationship with his wife, Christine, and their time as a family with Eric. He also shares a great deal about his time in prison and the ups and downs of his legal appeals over the years.

Michael Morton sat down with KXAN's Shannon Wolfson. You can watch her full inter view above.
Michael Morton sat down with KXAN’s Shannon Wolfson. You can watch her full inter view above.
In 1987, a jury convicted Morton of beating his wife to death. It took almost a quarter century to prove prosecutors hid evidence that could have cast doubt on Morton’s guilt and then years later, refused to test a piece of evidence that turned out to be the smoking gun in the case against the real killer– Mark Norwood– a man police say went on to kill another woman after Morton’s conviction.

Norwood was convicted of Christine Morton’s murder in 2013 and is currently awaiting trial for the murder of Debra Masters Baker, in Austin.

Ken Anderson, the District Attorney who prosecuted Morton, was found guilty of withholding evidence. He lost his law license, resigned his position as a state District Judge in Williamson County and spent five days in jail for his part in Morton’s wrongful conviction.

John Bradley, the former Williamson County District Attorney who refused, for seven years, to allow the additional DNA testing that ultimately set Morton free, lost his bid for re-election.

Those are the facts people who follow his story have come to know, but Morton says his revelations about life after his exoneration may be what surprises many readers.

“I like the epilogue best. Everybody knows the tragedy and the dark spots and the low valleys and all that stuff, but I like the epilogue best because it talks about my new life, my wife, living here,” Morton said as he looked around at his new home on the lake.

In March 2013, Morton married Cynthia Chessman, a woman he met at church shortly after his release from prison. The two recently moved in to the home on the lake in a private, gated community in East Texas, where Morton says he wrote a lot of his new book, with the help of journals he kept over the years.

“There’s nothing better in the morning than coming out on this deck and holding Cynthia’s hand and drinking a cup of coffee and watching all the critters start coming awake.

He has also re-connected with his son and since his release, has twice become a grandfather.
 
‘Getting Life: An Innocent Man’s 25-Year Journey from Prison to Peace’ will be released July 8, 2014, but is currently available for pre-order.

Timeline and video in article.

[MuffyBee]

http://www.kvue.com/story/news/local/2014/08/15/mark-alan-norwood-conviction-in-morton-murder-upheld/14112145/
Mark Alan Norwood conviction in Morton murder upheld
August 15, 2014

AUSTIN -- An appeals court has upheld the capital murder conviction of Mark Alan Norwood, convicted last year in the death of Christine Morton, according to KVUE's content partners at the Austin American-Statesman.

Morton's husband spent almost 25 years in prison before DNA evidence pointed to Norwood.

The appeals court rejected Norwood's arguments that the trial judge improperly admitted evidence in the case.

Norwood is serving a life sentence.

 

[MuffyBee]

http://kxan.com/2014/08/15/norwoods-appeal-denied-in-morton-murder-case/
Norwood’s appeal denied in Morton murder case
August 15, 2014

AUSTIN (KXAN) – An appeals court Friday upheld the murder conviction of Mark Norwood for the 1986 death of Christine Morton. Morton’s Husband spent 25 years behind bars for the crime before DNA evidence linked Norwood to the crime.

Norwood and his attorneys argued that the trial judge improperly admitted evidence related to the murder of Debra Baker because it was not related to Christine Morton’s murder. Norwood has yet to be tried for Baker’s death. The appellate judges ruled the evidence was related due to the similarities between the two murders.

Norwood was linked to Morton’s murder through DNA found on a bandana near the body. That DNA was eventually tested as part of the efforts to free Michael Morton.

Ken Anderson, the District Attorney who prosecuted Morton, was found guilty of withholding evidence. He lost his law license, resigned his position as a state District Judge in Williamson County and spent five days in jail for his part in Morton’s wrongful conviction.

John Bradley, the former Williamson County District Attorney who refused, for seven years, to allow the additional DNA testing that ultimately set Morton free, lost his bid for re-election.

[MuffyBee]

http://www.statesman.com/news/news/mark-alan-norwood-conviction-in-morton-murder-uphe/ng3gm/
Mark Alan Norwood conviction in Morton murder upheld
August 15, 2014

A state appeals court Friday upheld the capital murder conviction of Mark Alan Norwood, convicted last year in the 1986 beating death of Christine Morton, whose husband spent almost 25 years in prison for the crime before DNA evidence pointed to Norwood.
The 3rd Court of Appeals in Austin rejected Norwood’s arguments that the trial judge improperly admitted evidence related to the murder of Debra Masters Baker, who was killed 17 months after Morton in her Austin home.
Norwood is serving a life sentence for Morton’s murder but has not yet been tried in Baker’s death.
Michael Morton was freed from prison in 2011 and has since remarried, written a book and become an advocate for criminal-justice reforms aimed at protecting the innocent.
Norwood was identified as a suspect in Christine Morton’s death via DNA tests on a blue bandana recovered near the Morton home a day after the murder. Tests at the time confirmed only that blood was on the bandana. But in 2011, more sophisticated testing found that the blood belonged to Christine Morton and that the bandana contained DNA belonging to Norwood.
A short time later, Norwood was linked to Baker’s murder by DNA tests on two hairs found in her Austin home.
During Norwood’s trial in Morton’s death, District Judge Burt Carnes allowed prosecutors to discuss Baker’s murder because the patterns and characteristics “were so distinctively similar that they constituted a ‘signature,’” the appeals court said.
Both victims were white, in their 30s and had long brown hair. Both were attacked while lying in bed, struck in the head six to eight times with a blunt object and were covered with pillows. The killer apparently entered through an unlocked sliding glass door after jumping a backyard fence, and in both cases a single valuable item was taken — a gun from the Morton home, a VCR from Baker’s — while jewelry was left in plain sight, the court noted.
“We conclude that it was within the zone of reasonable disagreement for the district court to find that the Baker murder was sufficiently similar to Christine’s murder that evidence of the Baker murder was admissible to prove identity in Christine’s case,” said the opinion, written by Justice Bob Pemberton.

[MuffyBee]

http://www.statesman.com/news/news/crime-law/court-throws-out-cold-case-murder-conviction/nZhMB/
Court throws out cold-case murder conviction
August 30, 2014

 
Last February, the Travis County District Attorney’s Office indicated that its lawyers would conduct an internal review of the evidence in the Antonetti case because of the striking similarities to two other murders from the late 1980s.
Christine Morton, 31, was killed by eight blows to the head as she lay in bed at her southwestern Williamson County home in August 1986, probably shortly after her husband, Michael, left for work at his usual time, 5:30 a.m. Investigators found wood chips from a blunt weapon, which was never recovered, embedded in her hair.
Debra Masters Baker, 34, was beaten to death in bed at her North Austin home in January 1988 with six blows to the head, also with a blunt object that was not recovered. Baker, who was home alone, was last seen by relatives around midnight.
The three slayings share numerous similarities. All three victims were Anglo brunettes in their 30s who were killed on the 13th of the month.
Mark Alan Norwood, a former carpet installer who had lived within two blocks of Baker, was found guilty of Christine Morton’s murder and has been charged with murdering Baker.

[MuffyBee]

http://www.statesman.com/news/news/crime-law/prosecutors-seek-to-dismiss-murder-case-against-de/njFqd/
Prosecutors seek to dismiss murder case against Dennis Davis
November 25, 2014

More than a year after a state appeals court overturned the murder conviction against Dennis Davis, who was found guilty in the 1985 death of Natalie Antonetti, a Travis County judge is weighing whether to dismiss the charges against him.

In a surprising move Tuesday morning, prosecutors requested that Judge David Wahlberg drop the cold case against the former Austin recording studio owner pending further investigation. But defense lawyers refused, saying that decision would not be fair to Davis, who served more than two years in prison and whose life has been wrecked by the allegations.

“There is nothing else left to investigate,” defense attorney Jackie Wood told the judge. “They have investigated this case to death. My client wants his day in court. He wants to be exonerated, which we believe will happen if this case goes to trial again.”

Prosecutors seek to dismiss murder case against Dennis Davis photo
Dennis Davis
Davis, now 64, has been waiting for his case to go before a jury once more since last August, when the 3rd Court of Appeals threw out his 2011 conviction and 36-year prison sentence, ruling he had not been given adequate legal representation.

Wood and defense lawyer Tamara Needles last week filed their own petition — their second this year — to dismiss the charges on the grounds that the state has denied their client his right to a speedy trial. The lawyers say prosecutors have taken too long to hand over evidence and have since lost numerous items they need to prepare their defense.

The case has been scheduled for retrial Dec. 8.

But Wahlberg said Tuesday he would consider both state and defense requests and would need more time to come to a decision. He asked lawyers from both sides to meet with him in closed chambers to go through the evidence, which he said he found largely prejudicial in favor of the defense.

No physical evidence or witnesses directly tied Davis to the crime, and the case against him had relied largely on the testimony of witnesses given more than two decades after Antonetti, 38, was found beaten on the couch of her South Austin apartment in October 1985.

Since her death, six witnesses have died, including a neighbor central to the state’s case.

Another hearing has been scheduled Tuesday afternoon, but it is unclear whether a ruling will come at that time.

“I have some serious concerns about the state of this case and whether it is possible for anyone – the state or the defense – to have a fair trial before the community,” Wahlberg told lawyers Tuesday. “The dismissal pending further investigation would preclude him from attempting to assert his innocence.”

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Here is some background:
http://www.mystatesman.com/news/news/crime-law/judge-refuses-to-dismiss-murder-charges-against-de/nhhsB/#f51389f0.3708363.735562
Judge refuses to dismiss murder charges against Dennis Davis
Posted: 7:12 p.m. Monday, Oct. 13, 2014

(There's a lot to read, but here is snippet at end of article)

 
Davis was sentenced not long before the exoneration of Michael Morton, who spent nearly 25 years in prison after he had been convicted in the 1986 murder of his wife, Christine Morton. New DNA evidence in that case linked another man, Mark Norwood, to the killing.

The Travis County district attorney’s office in February 2012 indicated that its lawyers would conduct an internal review of the evidence in the Antonetti case because of similarities to two other homicides from the late 1980s, including that of Morton’s. Buddy Meyer, the director of the office’s trial bureau, told the American-Statesman that review was conducted about a year ago and no connection was found between the Davis case and any other killings.

[MuffyBee]

Travis County has SO bungled some of these murder cases.    

[MuffyBee]

Travis County has SO bungled some of these murder cases.    

And let me also add, so have Williamson County.  It's just frightening as heck.  It's not enough to arrest and convict someone.  It MUST be the right person!!!  Michael Morton's case (along with Debra Baker and Natalie Antonelli's case) has changed my mind about the death penalty. 

[MuffyBee]

Travis County has SO bungled some of these murder cases.    

And let me also add, so have Williamson County.  It's just frightening as heck.  It's not enough to arrest and convict someone.  It MUST be the right person!!!  Michael Morton's case (along with Debra Baker and Natalie Antonelli's case) has changed my mind about the death penalty. 

It was Christine Morton, the wife of Michael Morton that was murdered and it was her husband who was wrongfully convicted for that. 

[Sister]

Travis County has SO bungled some of these murder cases.    

And let me also add, so have Williamson County.  It's just frightening as heck.  It's not enough to arrest and convict someone.  It MUST be the right person!!!  Michael Morton's case (along with Debra Baker and Natalie Antonelli's case) has changed my mind about the death penalty. 

It was Christine Morton, the wife of Michael Morton that was murdered and it was her husband who was wrongfully convicted for that. 

 

[MuffyBee]

http://www.statesman.com/news/news/court-rejects-mark-alan-norwood-appeal-in-morton-m/njnjJ/
Court rejects Mark Alan Norwood appeal in Morton murder
January 14, 2015

The state’s highest criminal court Wednesday rejected an appeal from Mark Alan Norwood, a former carpet installer convicted of killing Christine Morton in 1986.

DNA tests pointed to Norwood and led to the exoneration of her husband, Michael Morton, who served almost 25 years in prison for the murder in their Williamson County home.

The Court of Criminal Appeals declined, without explanation, to review a 3rd Court of Appeals ruling that upheld Norwood’s murder conviction and life sentence. The court has discretionary review, meaning it can reject appeals deemed by its judges to lack merit or a legal issue that should be addressed.
The ruling is likely to be Norwood’s final appeal of the Morton killing, at least on the issues raised. Norwood’s lawyers can ask the Court of Criminal Appeals to reconsider its denial, but such motions are very rarely granted.

Norwood’s lawyers argued that the trial judge, Burt Carnes, improperly allowed prosecutors to admit evidence related to the murder of Debra Masters Baker, who was killed in her Austin home 17 months after Morton’s slaying.

Norwood was identified as a suspect in Christine Morton’s death through DNA tests on a blue bandana recovered near their home a day after the slaying. Tests at the time confirmed only that blood was on the bandana. But more sophisticated testing in 2011 found that the blood belonged to Christine Morton, and that the bandana contained DNA belonging to Norwood.

A short time later, Norwood was linked to Baker’s murder by DNA tests on two hairs found in her Austin home.

During Norwood’s trial in Morton’s death, Carnes allowed prosecutors to discuss Baker’s murder because the patterns and characteristics were so distinctively similar that they constituted a signature act.

In its ruling upholding Norwood’s conviction in August, the 3rd Court of Appeals listed the similarities. Both victims were white, in their 30s and had long brown hair. Both were attacked while lying in bed, struck in the head six to eight times with a blunt object and were covered with pillows afterward. The killer apparently entered through an unlocked sliding glass door after jumping a backyard fence, and in both cases a single valuable item was taken — a gun from the Morton home, a VCR from Baker’s — while jewelry was left in plain sight.

Norwood’s lawyer, Linda Icenhauer-Ramirez, argued that the similarities were more generic in nature and less of an indication of the killer’s “signature.”

Prosecutors devoted almost half their case to the Baker murder, a separate offense that shed little light on the Morton slaying but carried an emotional impact that was “horrific and devastating to any hopes (Norwood) had of a fair trial,” Icenhauer-Ramirez argued in a brief.

In declining the appeal, the court upheld the 3rd Court of Appeals finding that it was reasonable for Carnes to conclude that the crimes were sufficiently similar to allow evidence from the Baker murder to be admitted “to prove identity” in the Morton case.

The lower court also rejected Norwood’s claim that evidence of Baker’s murder improperly prejudiced the jury in Morton’s case.
 

Norwood has yet to be tried in Baker’s death.

Earlier this week, a Travis County judge delayed his trial until September at the request of prosecutors and defense lawyers.

[MuffyBee]

http://www.kvue.com/news/local/1988-murder-trial-begins-tuesday/317871125
1988 murder trial begins Tuesday
September 13, 2016

TRAVIS COUNTY - The murder trial for Mark Norwood -- the man convicted of killing Christine Morton two years before he allegedly killed Debra Baker in 1988 -- begins Tuesday morning.

Norwood is facing a murder charge in the beating death of Baker. Prosecutors have linked Morton's and Baker's deaths, saying both women were young, brunette mothers killed with wooden objects while in bed. Norwood's DNA was also found close to each crime scene.

Jury selection began Monday. Defense attorneys told KVUE that finding an impartial jury in the case was especially challenging.

Baker's family is expected to testify at the trial which is said to last at least two weeks.

[Sister]

praying for justice!

 

[MuffyBee]

http://kxan.com/2016/09/23/closing-arguments-jury-deliberation-expected-friday-in-norwood-trial-day-9/
Mark Norwood found guilty of 2nd murder, sentenced to life
September 23, 2016

AUSTIN (KXAN) — After nearly three decades since the brutal killing of Debra Masters Baker, a jury convicted 62-year-old Mark Alan Norwood of murder Friday. He was sentenced to life in prison, to be served consecutively with his previous murder sentence.

Baker, 34, was beaten to death in her home in January 1988. The case went unsolved until August 2011 when prosecutors say DNA evidence found in Baker’s home was a match to evidence found in the 1986 murder of another woman, Christine Morton.

The jury heard 9 days of testimony before reaching their decision Friday, marking the second time Norwood has been convicted of murder.
In March 2013, Norwood was sentenced to life in prison for the 1986 murder of Christine Morton – a crime for which her husband, Michael Morton, was wrongly imprisoned for 25 years before the DNA evidence match between Baker and Morton were discovered.

It took almost a quarter century to prove prosecutors hid evidence that could have cast doubt on Morton’s guilt and then years later, refused to test a piece of evidence that turned out to be the smoking gun in the case against the real killer–Mark Norwood–the man police say went on to kill Baker after Morton’s conviction.

Norwood was linked to Christine’s murder through DNA found on a bandana near the victim’s home. That DNA was eventually tested as part of the efforts to free Michael.

Michael Morton testified in the trial in Travis County. He addressed the media Friday after the verdict was read, saying today was about Debra Baker and her family.

“Most times, life is not fair. You don’t get what you deserve or you don’t get what you want,” said Morton. “Today’s a little bit different for the Baker family who’s waited so very long, and also for Mark Norwood, who’s waited so long for what he deserves.”

Morton continued, “Our government doesn’t always get it right, but today they did.”

Debra Baker’s daughter, Caitlin, read a statement to Norwood after his sentencing:

Mr Norwood,

My name is Caitlin Baker. Debra Baker was my mother. I am here on behalf of my grandmother, my brother, my mother’s siblings, and my father. I was just shy of 4 years old when she was murdered, and so I have spent the majority of my life waiting for this day.

I am often told that I look like her. I hope that when you find the courage to look at me you will see my mother staring back at you. Today, I am my mother’s voice.

My mother was a selfless, generous, and loving woman. From an early age she had a passion for writing and earned a degree in journalism from the University of Texas. She was hard working and dependable, and would never back down from a challenge. When something needed to be done, she did it. If she didn’t know how to do it, she learned.

Mom loved Barbara Streisand, dramatic movies, and Dr Pepper. She lived on coffee, always had a cigarette, and was a night owl. She always had her liquid black eyeliner with her, and it was always applied perfectly. That is not a skill shared by her sisters or her daughter. She had been teaching her sisters, but didn’t get the chance to teach me. She was a big fan of technology like the early Apple computers, and she thought her massive car phone was the coolest thing ever.

She was the “ultimate big sister” who took care of everyone. She was very close with her siblings and her mother. Everyone hung out at her house to drink coffee and talk or watch movies. Her living room was grand central station for the family.

I remember watching a movie called The Goonies with her. It wasn’t a particularly scary movie but she would pretend to be afraid so that I could be big and tough and protect her. I have only a few memories of her, but in all of them she was being playful and silly with me. I have had to rely on stories to know most things about my mom, but I don’t need anyone to tell me that she was a wonderful mother to my brother and I.

Her death was absolutely devastating to everyone who knew her. It was a gut wrenching, never-ending ache that was made exponentially worse by the senselessness of the murder. The only thing we ever knew for sure was that she didn’t deserve it. She was a good woman who lived for her children and her family.

But her story did not end there. She has never truly left us. She has been with us, all of us, at every moment in our lives. She has been that voice that assures us everything is going to be okay, and that reminds us to be kind to one another.  She will not be remembered as a victim, or a case number. She remains our mother, our sister, our daughter, and our friend.

Mr Norwood, I have seen no expression of remorse from you for the choices that you have made that have ultimately led us all to this courtroom. I have heard no compelling evidence that indicates to me that you are not the man responsible for my mother’s death. I accept the conclusion found by this jury, and I now recognize you as the person who stole my mother from me.

You are a murderer. You are a thief. You are a coward.

We will be grateful to leave this room and never see your face again.
Responding to the verdict on camera, Caitlin Baker said, “This doesn’t change anything. She’s still gone. This is just what we always wanted. We wanted mom to have her day in court. We wanted everyone to be here, and now we’ve had it.”

“She’s put a big hole in all of our lives. Of course her children weren’t raised by their mother, which you can never change that. You can never put that back together,” added Judie Baker, Debra’s sister. “She was a great mom. That was her total focus.”

The defense also spoke with the media Friday and said they are disappointed with the verdict.

“Every case that you do that’s hard like this, you feel it,” said Brad Urrutia, Norwood’s lead defense attorney.

Sentencing guidelines

Due to the sentencing guidelines in the 1980’s, Norwood’s conviction for the Baker murder means he could be sentenced to life, with the option of parole after serving 15 years — the statute as it was outlined in 1988. Because Norwood is already serving life for the Morton murder, a crime committed in 1986, he is serving life with the possibility of being eligible for parole in 20 years. He’s already served five years in jail for the Morton murder, meaning he could be eligible for parole in just 15 more years when he is 77-years-old. The prosecution asked Judge Kocurek to stack the sentences,

Because Norwood is already serving life for the Morton murder, a crime committed in 1986, he is serving life with the possibility of being eligible for parole in 20 years. He’s already served five years in jail for the Morton murder, meaning he could be eligible for parole in just 15 more years when he is 77-years-old. The prosecution asked Judge Kocurek to stack the sentences, essentially asking for the sentence for the Baker murder to kick in when his life sentence for the Morton murder ends, ensuring Norwood would stay in jail even if off chance he is granted parole in the Morton case.