Arrest made in 1979 murder of 20-year-old Kathy Jo Baker - Indiana

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Man Arrested In 31-Year-Old Cold Case Killing
Woman Strangled, 2-Year-Old Son Beaten

POSTED: 4:48 pm EDT October 14, 2010

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. -- Indiana State Police credit new DNA evidence for an arrest in a 31-year-old cold case killing.

Richard L. Boswell Jr., 53, of Terre Haute, was arrested Thursday on preliminary charges of murder and attempted murder.
 
Kathy Jo Baker, 20, and her nearly 3-year-old son, Kenneth Ryan Baker, were reported missing from the family's home near Riley in May 1979 and were found the next day in some nearby woods.

Kathy Jo Baker had been strangled to death, while her son was badly beaten but alive.

The case went dormant until April 2008, when state police said they received a tip of a possible suspect who had not been mentioned in the initial investigation, prompting them to submit several items of evidence for DNA analysis.

Police said the results came back in March, showing a match with a convicted offender from the Indiana Department of Correction -- Boswell.

According to correction department records, Boswell was convicted of criminal confinement and criminal deviate conduct in 1991. He was released from prison in 2006.

"This case is just one of many that have been solved by DNA evidence, especially since DNA testing was not available during the original investigation of these terrible crimes," said Vigo County Prosecutor Terry Modesitt. "The fact that the initial evidence was properly collected and preserved nearly 30 years ago, speaks volumes for good police work. Hopefully now, the Baker family can have some closure and comfort in knowing that a suspect is now behind bars."

Boswell was being held Thursday at the Vigo County Jail.
http://www.theindychannel.com/news/25393951/detail.html

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Arrest made in 31-year-old cold case
Updated: Thursday, 14 Oct 2010, 11:54 PM EDT
Published : Thursday, 14 Oct 2010, 3:04 PM EDT

Tom Brodbeck
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTHI) - Indiana State Police detectives from the Criminal Investigation Division at the Putnamville Post, have made an arrest in the 1979 murder of 20-year-old Kathy Jo Baker and the attempted murder of her then nearly 3-year-old son, Kenneth Ryan Baker.

Richard L. Boswell Jr., 53, of 6875 E. Gross Road, Terre Haute, Ind. was taken into custody at 11 a.m. Thursday morning at the Riley Fire Department, on Vigo County Superior Court 6 arrest warrants for one count of Murder, Class A felony and one count of Attempted Murder, Class A felony. Boswell was initially taken to the Putnamville State Police Post and later incarcerated in the Vigo County Jail.

In April of 2008, the Indiana State Police received a tip of a possible suspect. Former ISP Detective Hans Nowak reopened the case and collected DNA samples from a male subject not previously mentioned in the initial investigation. Nowak and former ISP Crime Scene Investigator Sergeant Andy Lohrman submitted several items of evidence from the Baker case, to the Indiana State Police Laboratory for DNA analysis.

In March of 2010, Indiana State Police Detectives were notified that DNA evidence found on the clothing of Kathy Jo Baker matched the DNA profile of a convicted offender from the Indiana Department of Corrections, Richard L. Boswell Jr.

The match was determined after the DNA profile from the clothing was entered into Indiana DNA database and a subsequent match to Boswell was found.

Indiana State Police Detectives, Sergeant Troy Stanton and Tony Guinn, were then assigned to the investigation and began examining the evidence, reviewing case files, and interviewing and re-interviewing persons related to the case.

Armed with this information, Stanton and Guinn conferred with Vigo County Prosecutor Terry Modesitt and working together, the trio was able to secure Vigo County arrest warrants.

The initial investigation began on May 22, 1979 when Kathy Jo Baker and her son, Kenneth Ryan Baker 2 years and 7 months, were reported missing from the family home by husband and father, Kenneth Baker.

During the mid-morning hours the following day, May 23, the Indiana State Police received a call that people fishing approximately one and one-half miles north of the Baker residence, heard what they thought was a baby crying in the woods.

ISP troopers and detectives rushed to the area and found Kathy Jo Baker deceased at the scene and her son alive, but injured. Her cause of death was listed as strangulation and asphyxiation.

The toddler, Kenneth Ryan Baker, had sustained blunt force trauma to the head, but survived his injuries. The Baker home is no longer there, but was approximately two miles east of Riley, IN on State Road 46, then one mile north.

“This case is just one of many that have been solved by DNA evidence, especially since DNA testing was not available during the original investigation of these terrible crimes. The fact that the initial evidence was properly collected and preserved nearly 30 years ago, speaks volumes for good police work. Hopefully now, the Baker family can have some closure and comfort in knowing that a suspect is now behind bars,” said Vigo County Prosecutor Terry Modesitt.

http://www.wthitv.com/dpp/news/local/arrest-made-in-31-year-old-cold-case

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POSTED on 4/19/11

Trial date set
TERRE HAUTE — Richard L. Boswell Jr., a convicted sex offender facing charges of murder and attempted murder in a 1979 case, has a new trial date.

A judge Monday set Oct. 3 as a jury trial date in Vigo County Superior Court Division 6. Boswell has a pretrial hearing in that court on Aug. 29.

snipped
http://tribstar.com/local/x1812406755/New-date-set-in-Boswell-murder-trial

[Sister]

I've looked to see what happened here, but I can't find any updates . . . but I'm not as good as most of the monkeys in doing research.

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He is not yet listed at the Federal Bureau of Prison's website
http://www.bop.gov/iloc2/LocateInmate.jsp

this is the last report I can find--same as above

April 19, 2011
New date set in Boswell murder trial

The Tribune-Star


TERRE HAUTE — Richard L. Boswell Jr., a convicted sex offender facing charges of murder and attempted murder in a 1979 case, has a new trial date.

 A judge Monday set Oct. 3 as a jury trial date in Vigo County Superior Court Division 6. Boswell has a pretrial hearing in that court on Aug. 29.

snipped
http://tribstar.com/local/x1812406755/New-date-set-in-Boswell-murder-trial

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Here we go.....................

http://tribstar.com/news/x1221403304/Trial-delayed-a-month-in-79-Riley-homicide/print
May 15, 2012
Trial delayed a month in ’79 Riley homicide

 Lisa Trigg
The Tribune-Star

TERRE HAUTE — A trial date has changed again for a Riley man accused of a 1979 homicide.

 An Aug. 6 trial is now scheduled for Richard L. Boswell Jr., 54, who has been charged with murder and attempted murder for the May 1979 homicide of Kathy Jo Baker, 20, in a rural area northeast of Riley. Baker’s then-2-year-old son was also injured and left for dead by his assailant.

 The trial had been scheduled to start July 9.

snip
Boswell is now being held in the Vigo County Jail with no bail set.


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Apparently there were delays in the mean time we did not hear about. Looks like this Aug. will be a trial.

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GRRRRRRRRRRR no new updates on the trial