Community News

DATE SET FOR INQUEST INTO TERRY BAKER'S DEATH

INQUEST TO START APRIL 11, EXPECTED TO LAST TWO WEEKS

– with files by Chris Halliday

A date has been set for a coroner's inquest into the death of a woman serving a life sentence for her role in torturing and murdering an Orangeville teen.

Terry Baker, who pleaded guilty 11 years ago for her part in the 2002 murder of 16-year-old Robbie McLennan, died at St. Mary's General Hospital in Kitchener after being transferred from Grand Valley Institution for Women on July 6, 2016.

In 2017, Dr. David Eden, regional supervising coroner for inquests, announced that an inquest examining the events surrounding Baker's death will be held.

On March 17, Dr. Karen Schiff, regional supervising coroner for West Region, Hamilton Office, announced the inquest will start Tuesday, April 11. It is expected to last two weeks and hear from about a dozen witnesses.

The inquest will start at 9:30 a.m. Eden will be the presiding officer. Sidney McLean and Kristin Smith will be inquest counsel.

The inquest will be conducted by video conference. Members of the public who wish to view the proceedings can do so live at the link provided below.

https://firstclassfacilitation.ca/office-of-the-chief-coroner/inquest-into-the-death-ofterry-baker/

Baker, who was 16 at the time of McLennan's murder in 2002, was serving a life sentence after admitting to helping torture and murder the Orangeville teen with another 16-year-old and her then boyfriend William Bronson Penasse, who was 20 at the time.

Penasse also pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in 2005 and was sentenced to life in prison, while the other 16-year-old — who was never identified under the Youth Criminal Justice Act — was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to 18 months.

The official cause of Baker's death is not known. In July 2016, however, the Toronto Star reported prison staff performed CPR in an attempt to save her life before being sent to a Kitchener hospital.

The Star report added Baker's trial lawyer, Owen Wigderson, told court in 2006 that his client had attempted suicide on several occasions while in custody awaiting trial.

Kim Pate, CEO of the Elizabeth Fry Society, an advocacy group for jailed women, told the Star Baker was in solitary confinement at the time of her death.

She added Baker complained to the group shortly before her death of being tied to her bed in restraints for long periods of time while under suicide watch.

With Baker's death, Penasse is the last person convicted of McLennan's murder still behind bars. He was sentenced in October of 2005 and won't be eligible for parole until 2030.

NEWS

en-ca

2023-03-23T07:00:00.0000000Z

2023-03-23T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://communitynews.pressreader.com/article/281578064908964

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