Kriti Mehrotra
It was on August 16, 2017, when 59-year-old Randy Baker was suddenly found dead inside his home in Greeley, Colorado, immediately kickstarting an extensive investigation. That’s not only because he was considered a pillar of society owing to his work but also because he had been killed, as explored in A&E’s ‘Interrogation Raw: Twisted Sisterhood.’ He did have some serious health concerns that had been persisting for over 14 years, yet local officials were quickly able to ascertain that his death was not natural at all – it was a homicide.
Randy Baker Was Fatally Shot By Two Different Weapons
Born on September 6, 1957, to Betty Patterson Baker and Harley Gene Baker, Randall “Randy” Gene Baker III reportedly grew up in a loving and supportive home. Therefore, of course, when his father passed away in 1975, his mother died in 2005, and he found himself struggling following a work accident in the 1990s, he ended up drowning in sorrow. He was only 28 at the time of the latter – when he was electrocuted while serving as a lineman at a power company – so doctors had prescribed him strong medications to relieve his pain.
No one could have ever imagined Randy would become utterly dependent on his prescription pills, which would then allegedly lead him to alcohol abuse as well as short-term drug dealing. His first marriage with Dori Baker, with whom he shared a loving daughter named Betty Winick, sadly crumbled apart during this period, too, eventually pushing him to pursue sobriety. According to records, the father of one managed to completely turn over a new leaf within months, following which he decided to use his own experiences to spread his wings as a counselor.
In other words, Randy went from an alleged addict to a substance abuse coach, doing his best at every opportunity to open up about his own struggles to help others in similar positions. As the years passed, he continued to thrive despite developing cardiac issues, tied the knot once again in the late 1990s with a local hairdresser named Kelly Baker, and built a good life for himself. However, everything changed on August 16, 2017, because he was found lying unconscious in the hallway of his Greeley home. An autopsy was performed to determine whether his death was not natural. As per his report, he had been shot once behind the ear and another time in his upper shoulder by a different firearm.
Randy Baker’s Killers Were People He Once Trusted the Most
Randy was ostensibly found at around 8:30 am on the fateful day by his wife, Kelly Baker, following which she instantly dialed 911 in a panic and claimed he had likely died from a heart attack. She later made it clear that he had been having cardiovascular issues for years, for which he even underwent surgery in June 2017 – she was his primary caregiver, until she wasn’t. According to her subsequent statements to the police, her husband had allegedly been demanding and demeaning for the majority of their union, so she had ultimately had enough and left him.
Randy and Kelly were thus separated, leading her to assert that she had gone to the home they once shared under the assumption her estranged husband would be at work. That’s when investigators carefully revealed that his manner of death was a homicide, almost immediately after which she shifted focus to his past struggles with alcohol and drugs. She tried indicating that his death might be linked to his past, only for it to raise suspicion on her since she didn’t hesitate to paint the victim in a seemingly negative light. Detectives hence asked for her cell phone, just to uncover that she had a very close relationship with her sister-in-law, Carol Baker, and had deleted their text threat on the day of the murder.
They then brought in Carol for questioning as well, and she reiterated everything her sister-in-law had claimed before, also agreeing to hand over her cell phone for forensic testing. By all optics, she seemed to be cooperating, but she had failed to mention that even she had deleted her text thread with Kelly and had given him her son Kelly “Gritz” Raisley’s number. According to the records, the recovered data from their messages revealed that Carol had told Kelly her son would get the “job” done for $10,000 or a Harley Davidson without any issues. When questioned about it, the victim’s sister quickly asked for a lawyer, resulting in her, Kelly, and later Kelly Raisley’s arrest for first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder.
Kelly Baker, Carol Baker, and Kelly “Griz” Raisley Are All Behind Bars Today
During the course of the investigation, officials had rather quickly cleared any possibility of Randy’s past or his health issues having a role to play in his homicide. Almost every lead honestly only led them to his estranged wife, Kelly, especially because she didn’t shy away from admitting her feelings towards him or her affair. The fact that she had claimed he had a life insurance policy worth only $10,000, when it was actually over $130,000, with her as the beneficiary, didn’t help her either. Neither did the fact that she alone inherited the Colorado home, nor the fact that she and Carol had exchanged at least 4,500 texts between them in the months leading up to the fateful day. Carol was the sole link between Kelly Baker and Kelly “Griz” Raisely.
Detectives were also able to link Carol’s Facebook profile to the attempted sale of Randy’s newly cleaned car, which was discovered abandoned in an alley after the homicide. Even the license plate of the vehicle had been removed, raising more questions than answers. Ultimately, it was Griz who came forward after 7 months of being detained in a county jail, admitting that he had killed his uncle after being “manipulated” by his mother and aunt. In May 2018, he asserted that he was deeply remorseful about what he had done, as Randy was a genuinely good man and one of the few father figures he had ever had in his life. Griz’s confession helped him obtain a plea deal that took the death penalty off the table in exchange for his testimony against Kelly, following which his mother also negotiated a deal.
However, Kelly was not offered any plea agreement, owing to her being the alleged mastermind behind the entire operation, so she stood trial for the charges against her and was found guilty in 2019. While Carol was ultimately sentenced to 30 years in prison for one count of second-degree murder, Griz was handed down a life term without the possibility of parole for first-degree murder. Kelly was also given the same sentence, but she was convicted of both first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder. Therefore, today, at the age of 56, she is incarcerated at the Denver Women’s Correctional Facility, whereas 45-year-old Griz is incarcerated at the Sterling Correctional Facility. As for 71-year-old Carol, she is detained at the medium-security La Vista Correctional Facility, where she is expected to remain until at least she becomes eligible for parole on March 12, 2030.
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