Cody Baker found guilty of killing baby

33-year-old Cody Marshall Baker was found guilty Friday of second degree murder of Finley Steele, his then-girlfriend’s child. The murder happened back on February 28, 2014, on Woodridge Drive in Columbia.

Jeff Hilbrenner said Baker was the one who tried to save Finley Steele when he realized she stopped breathing. Anna, on the other hand, was passive as Baker tried to give her CPR.

Dan Knight called Baker’s story a joke, and that he hurt Finley Steele when the baby stopped him from sleeping.

Each medical examiner that testified agreed there was no way to tell just by the injuries who caused them, but that the severity of them would have knocked Finley Steele unconscious almost immediately.

“I want them to remember her, never forget her, and realize that they did the right thing, and that they stood up for this little girl,” Knight told reporters after the verdict. “And because of them, she received justice tonight.”

Hilbrenner declined an interview with ABC 17 News after the verdict was read.

A jury of six men and six women spent nearly six hours deliberating the case that lasted four days. The second degree murder charge carries with it a minimum ten year prison sentence, and the possibility of a life sentence. Knight said he will recommend the life sentence at a hearing on October 19.

“Cody Baker is a psychopath,” Knight said. “He is an extremely dangerous and violent criminal. This is not the first time he has abused a little child. and he deserves to go to the penitentiary, not only for what he did to Finley Steele, but for his other crimes, and his life of crime.”

Anna Steele still faces charges of child abuse and neglect. Hilbrenner brought up during trial that Steele had entered into a plea agreement with the prosecutor’s office, although the defense called her as a witness for their part of the case. Knight said in court he would recommend five years for each charge, and leave it for Judge Christine Carpenter to decide whether she receives probation.

The defense called more witnesses Friday morning before resting its case.

On Thursday morning the prosecution rested its case. The defense started presenting evidence before 10 a.m. Thursday morning with Baker as its first witness. Just before 4:30 p.m. Thursday, Baker stepped down and the defense called Baker’s former girlfriend, and Finley Steele’s mother, Anna Steele, to the stand.

On Wednesday, Boone County prosecutor Dan Knightsaid Baker started abusing Finley Steele when he moved in with Anna Steele.

Knight described him as an insomniac who became frustrated when Finley’s crying stopped him from sleeping. Knight also showed the jury the blood on Finley’s clothes from the day he died and the interview police conducted with Baker on the day he was arrested.

Baker’s attorney says Finley’s mother neglected the child, and that there was no evidence linking Baker to any abuse.

The first day of the trial Tuesday ended with attorneys highlighting the injuries the 8-month old suffered.

Prosecutor Dan Knight said Baker lived with Anna Steele at her parents’ home for a few months before Finley Steele’s death. Knight said Steele was a healthy baby, loved and breast-fed by her mother since Finley’s birth on June 12, 2013.

Knight said a horrible thing happened to her in December 2014 – her mother met Cody Baker.

Finley Steele arrived at Women’s and Children’s Hospital in Columbia dead, according to Dr. Betsy Borsheski, the doctor who first tried saving Finley Steele in the early morning hours of February 28. An autopsy performed later revealed several blows to the child’s head, including a 12-centimeter skull fracture.

Knight painted a picture of Baker as an insomniac who grew frustrated with the crying baby while trying to get sleep before work as a chef at the Columbia Country Club. For the next few months, he began tending to Steele when she started crying, “bragging”, according to Knight, of his success in getting her to fall back asleep. Knight said bruises began to appear on the child in this time, which he credited as abuse from Baker. One night, Knight said, Baker took it too far, and needed to “put on the acting performance of a lifetime” to explain it to the sleeping mother.

“On February 28, 2014, that Friday morning, the defendant sprung out of that bed, with Finley Steele in his arms, and he yelled, ‘Anna, call 9-1-1, call 9-1-1, she’s not breathing!’ Acting…acting job.”

Baker’s lawyer, Jeff Hilbrenner, argued Baker did not cause any of the injuries to Finley Steele. Hilbrenner cited the 9-1-1 call around 3 a.m. made by Anna Steele, and her seemingly calm tone while Baker tried performing CPR. He quoted a Columbia police detective’s response to hearing the placed call, promising to bring that officer forward at the trial if necessary.

“‘I’ve listened to the 9-1-1 call,” Hilbrenner quoted during his opening argument. “‘It’s not the call of a mother who just found her baby dead from unknown reasons. It’s not.'”

Hilbrenner later questioned Dr. Borsheski on the demeanor of both Baker and Steele at the hospital that morning. She told the jury the two spent less time in the examining room than normal.

Knight characterized Anna Steele as a “passive, weak” person, who let the alleged abuse continue, fearing what would if she brought it up to Baker.

Jury selection for the trial started at 9 a.m. Tuesday and wrapped up just after 1 p.m. Opening statements ended around 4:30 Tuesday afternoon.

Anna Steele was also originally charged with murder. Steele posted a $25,000 cash bond in April of 2014 and was ordered to live with her family in Columbia, under GPS monitoring.

Earlier this year, the murder charge against Steele was dropped and amended. Steele is now charged with child abuse/neglect and endangering the welfare of a child. Her jury trial is scheduled for December.

ABC 17 News will keep updating this story as the trial moves forward.

(Editor’s note, 9/15, 10:09 p.m.: An earlier version of the story referred to Baker’s age as 32. He is 33.)