James "Jamie" Baldwin Jr.

 

This is a case in which I wish I had more information, especially in the form of an appeal. I suspect that an appeal has likely been filed and is forthcoming but I also suspect that the COVID-19 pandemic has delayed things. The case ended in late 2019 and an appeal takes time so I will try to make a note to check back on this case at a later date. Obviously I have let you know that a conviction was obtained in this case if I feel an appeal is in the works.

On December 14, 2016 a 911 call was made in Chester South Carolina. The caller was actually a dispatcher, Jamie Baldwin, himself calling. He told the dispatcher on duty that his wife had had an accident at their home and while he was taking her to the hospital there had been an accident and did not think his wife was breathing.

Baldwin had once been a police officer in the towns of York and Columbia but had been a dispatcher in Chester County for about a decade at the time of his call. His wife, Judy McWaters Orr, had once been the wife of a captain of the fire department in Chester, Wallace Orr. Wallace had died in a motorcycle accident in 2004 leaving Judy and their two sons who were seventeen and nineteen at the time. It is unclear when she and Jamie would married.

The couple were leading members in a motorcycle club, The Carolina Thunder Christian Motorcycle Club. While Jamie was the president, Judy was the secretary. The couple also owned a house cleaning business together. Over the months leading up to the death of Judy there had apparently been some issues within the motorcycle club. One former member would later testify at Jamie Baldwin's 2019 trial saying that money had been discovered to be missing from the club. The former member claimed that he and a few others had recently left the club but that was not all that he had to testify to. He also claimed that about a month before Judy's death that Jamie had admitted to him that he was having an affair with the treasurer of the club, Terri King. Jamie's defense would claim that the former member was asked to leave and had not left on his own accord and denied both the allegations of missing money or at least Jamie's involvement in it and the affair.

Prosecutors would say that text message between Terri and Jamie indicated there was a sexual relationship going on. Terri would also testify at the trial. She too would deny having a sexual relationship with Jamie. However, a month and a half after Judy's death Jamie moved in with Terri although she claims they had separate bedrooms and admitted that at one time she had loved Jamie, or as she put it, “who I thought he was.” My research did not indicate what was meant by this comment.

On the night of December 14^th the couple was supposed to help load Christmas presents at the motorcycle club for a “mission” they had coming up. Around 6:30 that night Jamie messaged Terri and said Judy had fallen and that he was going to have to take her to the hospital to get stitches. She later received a message that they had had an accident on the way and she asked him if he wanted her to come to the hospital and he answered yes. When she arrived she was informed that Judy had died. Terri was obviously not the only friend or person of law enforcement at the hospital because while there she was told by a local detective from the Chester County Sheriff's department, who was also a friend of Jamie's, that there was no plan to investigate the home and it was suggested that the home be cleaned up from the fall before Jamie returned.

Other law enforcement agencies would later take over the case claiming that it had not been investigated properly due to the fact that Jamie was friends and worked with those at the Chester County Sheriff's department. That being said it is unclear just how much cleaning was done on the house considering the fact that there were apparently pictures presented at the trial of blood splatter and other things. Later items in the area were also swabbed for DNA.

This case allegedly basically had two crime scenes. One was at the Baldwin home in which all agree Judy was injured. It was how that injury occurred that comes into question. The prosecutors would allege that Judy was beaten by her husband, who had possibly even used a “stocking hanger.” Judy was left with a 24cm skull fracture. The defense would claim that while Jamie was in the garage of the home Judy had been inside decorating the Christmas tree. They claim she had allegedly fallen from a step ladder, hit her head on the fireplace mantle and was attempting to get up when Jamie came into the room.

Aside from questions about whether this had been an accident or an act of violence, there were also questions about the car accident that had been reported by Jamie. His claim was that he was driving his wife to the hospital after her fall and while crossing a bridge he had swerved to miss a vehicle in his lane, going down an embankment. He would say that he hit his head and was unconscious for a period of time. Judy's body was found outside the vehicle and in front of it. Investigators questioned Jamie on whether the vehicle had overturned and he informed them that he was unsure if it had or not. Although my research was not specific there were indications that investigators also believed that the vehicle had not overturned and with that in mind could not determine how Judy's body would have ended up outside the vehicle. They also questioned why Jamie was taking Judy to a particular hospital when there was one closer than the one he was going to.

In August of 2018, nearly two years after Judy had died, Jamie was arrested and charged with her murder. Prosecutors would allege that he had beaten his wife in their home and had then staged the car accident to explain her death. Judy's sons believed he was responsible for their mother's death while Jamie's children believed the opposite. There was a report that sometime between Judy's death and Jamie's arrest he had suffered some sort of accident in which had caused a “brain injury” but I found nothing specific on this accident.

There also indications that during at least the nearly three years between her death and his trial there had been at least two autopsies were conducted on Judy's body. It is unclear as to the reasoning, the timing of them or what the original autopsy had revealed compared to the second.

As is often the case each side had experts testifying for their side. Of course this is not unusual and it generally comes down to which side the jury believes to be more plausible. When it comes to that, even for me, it is generally easy to decide which story makes more sense than the other. However, in this case I have to admit that I am unsure as it appears that the experts on both sides agreed that it was possible the injuries that Judy suffered could have either come from an accident or a deliberate act. One thing that they seemed to disagree about was whether the step ladder was in the place it was found, before or after, the alleged fall. This also all makes me question the issue of the home being cleaned up and not noted as a crime scene. The expert for the prosecution alleged that the ladder was placed at the scene after an act of violence had occurred, allegedly based on pictures, while a defense expert claimed that his opinion was that the ladder was there at the time of the injury.

The same defense expert claimed that the blood found inside the couple's Jeep indicated that while on the way to the hospital Judy would have been conscious as he claimed there was evidence that there was head control. He claimed if she was dead or even unconscious the blood would have been in other places as there would have been no way to control the head. This was in direct conflict with the prosecution expert who claimed due to the injury Judy would have been unconscious within just a few minutes of the injury. This expect would say that her injuries were consistent with a beating but could not rule out an accident. The defense expert said the injuries were consistent with an accident but he could not rule out a beating.

Despite the alleged issue that the home was cleaned early on there were apparently items swabbed for DNA in the home, in particular in the area of where it was believed Judy had suffered her head injury. There seemed to be evidence of Judy's DNA on things but it was said that Jamie's was not found. Prosecutors alleged that Jamie used gloves when the beating occurred to explain the lack of his DNA on items.

A friend of Judy's testified that she helped Judy with cleaning homes and she did not believe that Judy would have been on the step ladder as she had indicated to her at some point that “something happened when she was younger” and she was fearful of ladders. Then there was the testimony of the former motorcycle club member who alleged that Jamie had spoken of having an affair with Terri King. My research stated that “the state has had family and friends testify the Baldwins' marriage was rocky and that Jamie was having an affair.” However, beyond the former club member testifying to the affair and Terri King testifying in her denial of the affair I found nothing else of anyone else mentioning the affair.

One article that I came across mentioned questions posed by investigators throughout the investigation. They included things like why he had not gone to the closest hospital; why had he not called 911 from his home; and why had he not informed Judy's son who lived across the street from the couple. Jamie did not testify in his own defense and I never saw anywhere where an answer or explanation was given for these questions. That being said, in my opinion, while these could be questionable things, it does not necessarily mean that he murdered his wife. In the first question dealing with the hospital the answer could have been as simple as that is where their insurance covered or maybe the couple simply liked that hospital better. As far as why he did not call 911 or let his stepson know they were going to the hospital the answer could have been that no one thought it was that serious of a wound but just serious enough to get stitches. Maybe the son was not home. Maybe the son had things going on. Maybe the couple thought there was no reason to disrupt the son's evening and would inform him later. Now, with that said I agree that the answers could have been just as malicious as the prosecution wanted the jury to believe. But, without those answers or an attempt to answer I personally do not think that it is enough to accuse a person of murder.

After a week long trial the case was given to the jury. I found no indication on how long it took them to reach a verdict but they did find Jamie Baldwin guilty in the murder of his wife. In November of 2019 he was given a life sentence. According to the South Carolina Department of Corrections website he is in an undisclosed location, I can only assume due to the fact that he was formally a police officer.

At the time that he was charged with Judy's murder I found a reference that he had also been charged in York County at some point for 1^st degree arson “for setting a trailer on fire.” I found no information on this and this is not included in his charges on the Department of Corrections website which indicates that charge was dropped. I am left to wonder whether those charges were filed first in order to hold him as they gathered more evidence on the murder charge and then, because he received a life sentence for the murder York County decided there was no use in taking him to trial for the arson.

As I stated in the beginning I wish I was able to see an appeal on this case. As it is I am left to rely mainly on articles on the case. An appeal would put things in order and would have likely answered some of the questions that I have about things. As it stands I have to say that I am unsure how I feel about his guilt.