https://www.facebook.com/palatkadailynews/videos/335246057599863
Deputies in Putnam County, Florida said that they have arrested a man who brutally killed two boys. Mark Wilson Jr., 30, was arrested on Thursday in the murders of Robert Baker, 12, and Tayten Baker, 14, authorities said.
“Mark Wilson, the sick monster responsible for Tayten and Robert’s brutal murder was arrested last night,” Putnam County Sheriff Gator DeLoach said on Facebook. “Very quickly detectives honed in on Wilson and immediately established this individual was only a threat to those around him. Unfortunately, Robert and Tayten were the ones who suffered whatever was going through Wilson’s twisted agenda. As a parent, the murders of Robert and Tayten are an unimaginable loss to a family. I can’t begin to understand the anguish their parents are suffering.”
“These are some of the most brutal murders I’ve heard about, the defendant attacked these kids without mercy.”- State Attorney on deaths of Robert and Tayten Baker. @ActionNewsJax pic.twitter.com/UIPJcMZOCK
— Bridgette Matter (@bridgetteANjax) August 28, 2020
#NEW: Just watched investigators escort Mark Wilson Jr., inside the Putnam County Jail. He’s charged with the deaths of 14 y/o Tayten Baker and 12 y/o Robert Baker. @ActionNewsJax @WOKVNews pic.twitter.com/367EzIVLyF
— Beth Rousseau (@BethANJax) August 28, 2020
In a press conference on Friday morning, DeLoach told reporters that deputies got a call 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday. They found the victims dead in the residence. It was determined to be an isolated incident, and there was no further danger to the community. Wilson was apprehended, interviewed by investigators, and arrested, DeLoach said.
The murder weapon was a hammer and knife, the sheriff said. The defendant attacked the boys “without mercy,” 7th Judicial Circuit State Attorney R.J. Larizza told reporters.
“I can tell you I’ve been in the criminal justice system working since 1980, and these are some of the most brutal murders that I have heard about,” he said.
The motive remains unclear, DeLoach said. The investigation is ongoing. The family of Wilson’s girlfriend had invited the couple to live in a shed on the property, according to the authorities. The defendant was described as having an “extensive criminal history,” involving drugs, property crimes, but no violence.
Asked if Wilson confessed, DeLoach only said that the defendant was arrested after being interviewed.
[Image via Putnam County Sheriff Gator DeLoach]
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