Former Baptist Pastor Matt Baker Sentenced to 65 Years

January 21, 2010

Former Baptist pastor and now convicted-murderer Matt Baker was sentenced earlier today to 65 years in prison.

After the sentence was handed down, victim impact statements were read. Below is the transcript of the impact statement read by Kari Baker’s mother Linda Dulin. I watched on my TV as Dulin read this powerful statement. At several points, she asked Matt Baker, who had his head hung down, to look at her. Here it is:

Love Trumps Evil

You took her from us, Matt. You discarded her like she was yesterday’s trash. You murdered the mother of your children. …You really can’t look at me, can you?…You took (Kensi and Grace’s) mother and then fed them lies.

…Thank goodness this journey doesn’t end here. …You see, Matt, you were never going to win this one. You spent your life preying on innocent people. …But love trumps evil. Do you hear me, Matt? Love trumps evil.”

When I see Kari again) she’s going to run toward me and knock me over and smother me with kisses. …God told us he would never forsake us and he hasn’t. We have felt his arms around us through this entire process.

…We are so very blessed. We are blessed. So, what do we do now? Well, first we thank God for bringing us here to this place. …But next, Jim and I commit our lives to Kensi and Grace. …We can’t give them back their mother, but we want, more than anything in this world, for them to be whole and healthy. You poisoned them.

You taught them to hate. But it won’t last. It won’t last….You have to spend many years in prison. What you did was horrific. It was horrific, Matt. And I believe you’re capable of much more evil….But….we have to step out and forgive. So, we do. We forgive. Because that’s the only way, Matt. …Love trumps evil.”