Kelly Raisley Today: Randy Baker’s Killer is Still in Prison

Randy Baker was murdered in his home in 2017, though investigators initially believed that he died because of health issues with his heart. The murder will be investigated on tonight’s episode of Dateline NBC. 

In August 2017, Randy Baker’s wife, Kelly Baker, called 911 after finding her husband’s body. He was 59 years old when his body was found by his wife Kelly Baker in their home in Greeley, Colorado. During the 911 call, she stressed that her husband, who had a bad heart, had fallen and hit his head.

“At the time, she [Kelly Baker] was acting as a distraught wife, finding her husband murdered, or finding her husband dead at the time,” said Weld County Assistant District Attorney Robert Miller, according to 9 News. “Randy Baker is found in the entryway to his house. He’s found lying on the ground a few feet inside the house.”

Two days later, the coroner found two bullet holes in his body. One was behind his ear and another was on his shoulder.

Kelly Raisley Was Offered $10,000 and a Motorcycle To Shoot His Uncle

Something was wrong, very wrong… #Dateline tonight at 10/9c. pic.twitter.com/wtyLC04J9b

— Dateline NBC (@DatelineNBC) June 26, 2020

When the police investigated the death of Randy Baker more closely, they began interviewing people close to him, and they soon discovered that he and his wife had a strained marriage and she had been seeing other people. They also found out that he had a life insurance policy that was later revealed to total over $120,000.

That’s where Randy’s older sister, Carol Lyn Baker, began to be interviewed. She told police that she hadn’t seen her brother recently, though she remembered seeing a suspicious man around. Later, tips came in linking Carol to the sale of Randy’s car.

What actually had happened, according to the police and the later trials, was that Kelly wanted her husband out of her life, so she talked to Carol, who got her son, Kelly Raisely, involved. He shot Randy for his aunt and received $10,000 and Randy’s motorcycle in return.

Raisley Was Sentenced to Life in Prison

When Raisley confessed to the crime, he did not implicate anyone else, and he did not say that his mother was involved. He told the court what he had done, shooting his uncle twice, but he said that he could not recall that anyone else was involved in the plan.

Raisley shot Baker twice, once with a .22 behind the ear and once in the shoulder with a .45-caliber handgun. Raisley had previously been charged with attempted murder, and he had spent much of his life in and out of prison.

Raisley and Carol both took plea deals. Raisley’s deal meant he would be sentenced to life in prison, and Carol would spend 30 years in prison.

Kelly Baker refused to take a plea deal, so her case went to trial. There, Carol testified against her sister-in-law as part of the deal. A Weld County jury found Kelly Baker, who was 49 at the time, guilty of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit first degree murder after a trial that lasted nearly three weeks. She was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

“The Secret Keepers” episode of Dateline NBC airs at 9 p.m. on Friday, June 26. The episode will feature interviews with Randy Baker’s daughter as well as with investigators on the case. The episode is reported by NBC’s Keith Morrison.

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