Matt Baker
Appearances
20/20
The After Show: Dirty Little Secret
This is a little bit of everything. They have a cafe where they take flowers and they crush them up and pretend it's chicken noodle soup.
20/20
The After Show: Dirty Little Secret
Each have their own, you know, and they separate pants from shirts.
20/20
The After Show: Dirty Little Secret
Everybody knows everybody. Some people don't like that, but I do like that. You walk in a store and most people know you by your first name or know your family and they trust me. They believe me that I'm from here. This is my hometown. They've known me for well over 30 years. They watched me grow up in Sunday school. They watched me through school.
20/20
The After Show: Dirty Little Secret
They watched me in all the activities around town. They know I'm not capable of this.
48 Hours
A Preacher's Secret, Part 1
No, no, no. She's not breathing at all. I was gone maybe 40 minutes, and during that time, I don't know what happened to her. The police officer brings me the note. I read the first line, and I handed it back because I said, I can't read it right now. My first thought at that time was, her parents need to be here.
48 Hours
A Preacher's Secret, Part 1
We often did. We did. We did often talk. And weren't you interested in her? I never thought of a relationship with her at all. That never was anything in the back of my mind.
48 Hours
A Preacher's Secret, Part 1
I needed a friend. I needed somebody to look me in the face and say, I'm sorry, you lost your wife.
48 Hours
A Preacher's Secret, Part 1
Did you have an affair with Vanessa? Oh, no, I did not. There was never any relationship at all other than a friendship.
48 Hours
A Preacher's Secret, Part 1
I never thought in a million years that my wife would do this. I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her. She was my best friend.
48 Hours
A Preacher's Secret, Part 1
It scared me that she was taking that much sleeping medicine to get to sleep at night. It took a lot to wake her up in the morning sometimes.
48 Hours
A Preacher's Secret, Part 1
At that point, I didn't think it was necessary to tell the doctor because I thought she was getting it under control.
48 Hours
A Preacher's Secret, Part 1
My name is Matt Baker, and I have been accused of murdering my wife.
48 Hours
A Preacher's Secret, Part 1
She comes out with a bottle of pills and she looks at me and she says, I found these in there.
48 Hours
A Preacher's Secret, Part 1
I don't know where she found it. I never had it. I never saw it before she had it in her hands.
48 Hours
A Preacher's Secret, Part 1
I guess the foolishness in my part was if you never do anything wrong, you won't get arrested.
48 Hours
A Preacher's Secret, Part 1
And I'm just waiting for the day that I can grieve with my children the loss of my wife and their mother.
48 Hours
A Preacher's Secret, Part 1
It had to be somebody's fault, and I have to be the fall guy for it.
48 Hours
A Preacher's Secret, Part 1
I know if she was sitting here, she would look at you and say, he didn't do anything. Leave him alone. But she can't.
48 Hours
A Preacher's Secret, Part 1
No, I never blamed her for the death. She misunderstood what I had said. I said that it hurt me that she felt her prayer was answered and mine wasn't.
48 Hours
A Preacher's Secret, Part 1
What was your reaction? And I said, what? Well, wait, wait. And I'm like, what's going on here? That was just kind of just completely rattled everything that was going on at that time.
48 Hours
A Preacher's Secret, Part 1
I never thought of a relationship with her at all. That never was anything in the back of my mind. You asked her parents whether you could date her. Yes, later in the summer.
48 Hours
A Preacher's Secret, Part 1
I remember when I was getting dressed and ready to leave, the clock said 11-11.
48 Hours
A Preacher's Secret, Part 1
We talked about everything that I was supposed to get, and I left. She was awake? She was awake. She was awake when you... Correct. When you left. Oh yeah, we had a conversation. I went, you know, leaned down and kissed her on the forehead before I left.
48 Hours
A Preacher's Secret, Part 1
And she was talking, she said goodbye to you? She had rolled back over and gone back to sleep. So when I left, she was asleep.
48 Hours
A Preacher's Secret, Part 1
The police officer brings me the note, and that was the first thought at that point in time. She took her own life.
48 Hours
A Preacher's Secret, Part 1
Amen. It's so improbable. It's not who I am. I loved my wife. I never hurt her a day in my life.
48 Hours
A Preacher's Secret, Part 1
I think my wife just committed suicide. Her lips are blue, her hands are cold, and there's a note that says I'm sorry, basically.
48 Hours
A Preacher's Secret, Part 1
But I did not read the full note. I saw the note, but as I picked up the phone, I saw it there. But I did not take the time to read the note.
48 Hours
A Preacher's Secret, Part 1
No, I did not. Was I the perfect person? Did I do everything correct? No. But I didn't hurt my wife. I loved my wife. I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her.
48 Hours
A Preacher's Secret, Part 1
I would have been 23 and she was 20. I met her and I thought, this is the person for me.
48 Hours
A Preacher's Secret, Part 1
There'd be days that it looked really good, prognosis was good, and then turned around and went right back downhill. How did Carrie deal with that?
48 Hours
A Preacher's Secret, Part 1
I always assumed that she would pull through this and fight through this.
48 Hours
A Preacher's Secret, Part 1
To sit there and struggle that far, to come what I thought was so far, to watch her die, that was devastating. It really was a very hard, hard thing to cope with.
48 Hours
A Preacher's Secret, Part 1
I don't think it was a split second. All of a sudden, she was completely different. It was a gradual changing of a person. She had almost two personalities in a way. Not negative, but when she went to work, she had the ability to put issues behind her and focus on work. And the other personality? The other personality was a little bit more withdrawn at home.
48 Hours
A Preacher's Secret, Part 1
I think she was a very loving, caring person. Family was first for her. But I also know now Cassidy consumed her. The loss of Cassidy consumed her thoughts. After Cassidy passed away, she couldn't go to sleep. She could not go to sleep. And so she started taking sleeping pills. But I never saw it as suicidal. I saw it more as she's hurting. She's missing her daughter.
48 Hours
A Preacher's Secret, Part 1
So I typically gave them their bath, washed their hair, get them dressed, put them to bed, sing them their songs, and read them their books.
48 Hours
A Preacher's Secret, Part 1
I'm not even sure what the names would be. Other sleeping pills, just to help her sleep, help her get a good night's sleep.
48 Hours
A Preacher's Secret, Part 1
It was always two or three weeks leading up to it. It's coming. It's coming. I can't do this. I can't make it another year. I can't do this again.
48 Hours
A Preacher's Secret, Part 1
And about that time, my wife started almost hyperventilating again in the office. Didn't like him saying anything about depression. She would never agree that that could be a problem.
48 Hours
A Preacher's Secret, Part 1
And I'm at about 45, 50 miles an hour, and she is hyperventilating, and she attempts to open the car door as we're driving down the road. Why? She said she needed to get out, get some air, to get some air, to get some air.
48 Hours
A Preacher's Secret, Part 1
I didn't think suicide. I thought she just wanted fresh air and wasn't thinking. She lost it for a second.
48 Hours
A Preacher's Secret, Part 1
It was just tired. I'm tired. I mean, just kind of exhausted. That evening, despite a queasy stomach, Matt says Carrie drank a wine cooler. She went to bed, and off and on, dozing off and on, watching TV. I'm in bed with her, taking care of the kids.
48 Hours
A Preacher's Secret, Part 1
And I thought, it's late, all right, but I'll do it. If your wife asks, you do what your wife asks. And so I got dressed and left the house a little after 11 o'clock. Oh, it's probably about two miles to the first gas station that I could fill up at. And got out, pumped the gas, went up to the movie place, rented the movie, and drove back home.
48 Hours
A Preacher's Secret, Part 1
And so I go in and get the little screwdriver that can fit in there and I pop the button, open the door. She was naked in bed. And I call her name and she doesn't respond. At 12.01 a.m., he called for help. And as I'm calling 911, I'm deciding I don't want them to see her naked, so I put her clothes on her.
48 Hours
A Preacher's Secret, Part 1
I wasn't processing at any point in time what had happened to her.
48 Hours
A Preacher's Secret, Part 1
The detective that night pulled me into the kitchen. He goes, well, she took her own life. There's a note. There's pills. There's no signs of struggle. It's pretty obvious what happened. And at that point, my heart sunk. I couldn't believe it. That was the first time for sure that's what they claimed it to be.
48 Hours
A Preacher's Secret, Part 1
It was right at 12 o'clock by the time I made it home. I had that eerie feeling when I walked in the room that something's not right here. I don't think my wife is okay. And I go to her side and I touch her and she doesn't move. She doesn't respond. And I call out her name and there's no response. And I immediately pick up the phone and call 911. It was 911.
48 Hours
A Preacher's Secret, Part 2
I am Matt Baker, and I have been called a cheater, an adulterer, a murderer, a liar, and that's the farthest thing from the truth.
48 Hours
A Preacher's Secret, Part 2
How could they think this of me? They know I'm not capable of hurting Carrie.
48 Hours
A Preacher's Secret, Part 2
When I'm on the phone with the operator, I'm putting her clothes on her and taking her off the bed.
48 Hours
A Preacher's Secret, Part 2
No, because I didn't. I did not suffocate, did not shove pills down her throat, did not do anything to hurt my wife.
48 Hours
A Preacher's Secret, Part 2
She thought she was gonna be with me and I walked away from the relationship and she was upset and mad.
48 Hours
A Preacher's Secret, Part 2
I felt to see if she was breathing. She was not. I shook her. She didn't answer.
48 Hours
A Preacher's Secret, Part 2
That was a tough time for her. Every year? Every year, absolutely.
48 Hours
A Preacher's Secret, Part 2
We talked a lot, but I talked to a lot of friends, so it's not... Did you have an affair with Vanessa? Oh, no, I did not. There was never any relationship at all other than a friendship.
48 Hours
A Preacher's Secret, Part 2
So since then, it has grown into a good friendship, you know. And I know for a fact my in-laws don't like that.
48 Hours
A Preacher's Secret, Part 2
I think they're mad that they think I'm moving on. I guess they think I'm moving on too quickly.
48 Hours
A Preacher's Secret, Part 2
She was laying in the bed. Okay. Was she clothed? She was not. She had her... She had her... I'm trying to remember. No, she was naked.
48 Hours
A Preacher's Secret, Part 2
Tell your father we thank you so much for our food, for our family, for our friends. Amen.
48 Hours
It’s About Danni
I found out that they really hadn't been given much information back in 1996 regarding the investigation, which is not uncommon with investigations. You know, you don't openly talk about them with the family usually. They'd been told that she had fallen down and drowned and it was marked as accidental.