Suvechha Sarkar
Investigation Discovery’s ‘The Murder Tapes: The Man in the Red Shirt’ dives deep into the case of Jamie Ann Baker, whose life was horrifically cut short in 2017 in Evansville, Indiana. This tragic murder left the entire community shocked and grieving, especially leaving her family and friends grasping for closure. As the investigators tried to untie the knots of mystery and piece together the tragic events of that night, it turned out that a failed robbery was the reason behind her death. The episode further features interviews with the bereaved family members and the officials.
Jamie Ann Baker’s Simple Walk With a Friend Turned Into a Deadly Nightmare
Born on September 2, 1976, Jamie Ann Baker was the beacon of joy to her parents, Marian La Chance and Robert Head. She grew up bringing nothing but positivity into the household and was a very kind and nurturing person. She was also a dutiful sister to her brother, Bobby La Chance, and her sister, April Liley. While growing up, the siblings were quite close, and she was just like a “guardian” to them. Whether it be goofing around together or looking out for them, she was truly a loving sister. Jamie was the kind of person who always loved to make others laugh and cared about everyone. Apart from this, she was one of the favorite granddaughters of her grandparents, Tom and Hazel Suites, and grandma, Winnie Bradley.
Jamie moved forward in her life, finding even further happiness when she met the love of her life, Jonny Baker. The couple shared their marriage vows and soon set out for a magical journey together. In the following years of their marriage, their joy multiplied as they welcomed their daughter, Christina Cooper, and sons, Gavin Cooper and Ashton La Chance. Above everything, she became a dutiful mother who never missed a chance to express her love for her kids. All in all, she was truly living the life of her dreams. Little did she know that it was soon going to be turned upside down. On June 4, 2017, Jamie was out with her friend, Michael Turpin, whose truck broke down, and he was unable to find someone to pick them up. So, they decided to walk to one of their friend’s houses.
When Jamie and Michael were passing by the parking lot at Walgreens around 12:20 am on June 5, the latter noticed a man giving them a disturbing look. As they hurriedly walked down the street on Cass Avenue near Weinbach Avenue, Michael allegedly heard the man’s footsteps, and he yelled at them, saying, “Get on the fu**ing ground.” As they started running, four shots were fired, and the last one hit Jamie in the center of her back, following which the shooter reportedly fled the scene. Michael called 911 right then and asked for help. When the officials arrived at the scene, they found her lying face down with a gunshot wound in her back. After their initial checks, Jamie was pronounced dead. Her cause of death was determined as excessive bleeding out due to her wound. The officials lost no time in launching an investigation that initially left them grasping for straws.
Jamie Ann Baker’s Killer Initially Claimed He Was Innocent
During the inspection of the crime scene, the officials found a .40 caliber shell casing. Police canines were brought to take the chances of picking up the trail of the shooter, which led them nowhere. Based on Michael’s verbal accounts, law enforcement followed the direction he had pointed out. They reportedly obtained the video footage from Walgreens and found Jamie and Michael walking when the shooter started to follow them. Although they did not identify the individual just from the images, the detectives finally had something to start with. Upon further checking the convenience store video where they walked by, they reportedly saw a man with a red t-shirt enter the store, agitated. They now had a video, but the officials still did not have a name, which made it hard to identify the person.
Since there was no lead, the police reportedly looked into Jamie’s family, which brought up the fact that one of her family members was also shot and murdered one year ago. However, this led to a dead end since that crime was unsolved. After a while, one of the officers spotted the man in the red shirt, and he was brought in for questioning. It turned out that the killer had also tried to shoot him on the fateful night as he tried to walk away. Luckily, he moved his head and ducked behind a dustbin. This allegedly made the detectives understand that the shooter wanted to rob multiple people. Ultimately, a breakthrough came on June 7, 2017, when a guy who was brought into the sheriff’s department allegedly claimed that he had information about the murder. He reportedly told the officials that his friend “Doc” had bragged about shooting a woman 4 times.
Additionally, the informant told the investigators that it was a .40 caliber gun. This sealed the deal for them, as they were sure that they had found their guy. Deryan Oneil Cook, AKA Doc, was arrested and brought to the Evansville PD Department for questioning. He initially claimed that he did not have a gun and he did not commit the crime. Moreover, he tried to pin the murder on another person. The detectives found his Facebook picture with a gun in his hand and also pointed out that the clothes he mentioned were not the ones he was wearing in the video. Gradually, holes started appearing throughout his story. Ultimately, everything became clear as a day when Michael identified Deryan Cook during a photo lineup. This led to Deryan being arrested and charged with murder and murder felony.
Deryan Oneil Cook is Incarcerated at an Indiana Prison Today
Following the arrest of Deryan Oneil Cook, his trial finally commenced in November 2017. The prosecution set up the case very meticulously and presented promising evidence which proved that he was the shooter. Apart from the surveillance footage and forensic findings, they also brought in Michael as a witness. However, the defense argued that since the night was rainy and very dark, it was not possible to identify the shooter properly. He further added it was impossible that the shooter was “magically standing under the street light.” To this, Michael reportedly explained, “It’s not magically standing under that street light. That’s where he told us to stop and pointed a gun at me and shoot and I seen his face, I seen the smirk on his face.” After the back and forth, it was proved that it was the case of a robbery that went wrong and ended up in a gruesome murder.
After careful deliberations, the jury finally convicted him of murder and felony murder of Jamie Baker on November 30, 2017. Ultimately, on January 16, 2018, Deryan Oneil Cook was sentenced to a total of 65 years in prison — 55 years for murder and an additional 10 years for knowingly using a firearm to commit the crime. In February 2019, he appealed his conviction and sentence, claiming the trial court had abused its power by excluding certain evidence. He further alleged his sentence was not appropriate depending on the crime he had committed. However, after reviewing the appeal, the court upheld its original judgment. As of today, the 28-year-old is serving his time in Wabash Valley Correctional Facility, located in Haddon Township in Sullivan County, Indiana, and will remain behind bars at least till April 22, 2081.
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