Jasper Co. son sentenced for fatally stabbing mother after a ‘history of parental abuse’
Hardeeville resident Joseph Tykwan Baker, 36, was sentenced to 15 years in prison for fatally stabbing his 70-year-old mother in early 2021. Family members and the man’s defense attorney claimed the killing was a knee-jerk response to a “long history of parental abuse,” leading to a conviction for manslaughter rather than murder.
Baker pleaded guilty of voluntary manslaughter Friday, with visiting Circuit Court Judge Jennifer B. McCoy handing down the sentence. Assistiant Solicitor Trasi Campbell prosecuted the case.
The fatal stabbing took place at the Baker family home off Hardeeville’s South Okatie Highway the night of Feb. 18, 2021, when 70-year-old Yemassee native Mary Baker and her spouse, Baker’s stepfather, were in the midst of an argument, said Justin D. Maines, Baker’s defense attorney. Suddenly bringing her son into the dispute, Baker’s mother began “denigrating” the man, prompting him to stab the woman multiple times. Police found her dead inside the home later that night, arresting Baker on a murder charge just over a week later.
Maines says the verbal assault that prompted the stabbing wasn’t an isolated incident: Baker’s mother put her son in a “psychological prison” of emotional and psychological abuse his entire life, he said. Baker “snapping” the night of the killing was “the final straw in a lifetime of abuse,” he added, comparing his client’s emotional state to that of a domestic violence victim.
These claims of emotional abuse were corroborated by relatives and even Baker’s stepfather, who collectively chose Maines as the man’s defense attorney. Family members “all wanted to help (Joseph Baker),” Maines said, adding that his relatives asked the judge for a 10-year sentence. Although Judge McCoy added five years, his family still believe the sentence is appropriate, according to Maines.
After family members were interviewed as witnesses, investigators from the 14th Circuit Solicitor’s Office decided a voluntary manslaughter charge might be more applicable to the case, said spokesperson Jeff Kidd. Baker’s voluntary manslaughter conviction means the killing was judged as a “heat of passion” moment during the argument, rather than a malicious and premeditated murder.
Baker received 890 days of credit for time previously served in jail, meaning he will spend just under 13 years at the SC Department of Corrections. He had not yet been booked at the prison as Wednesday afternoon.
This story was originally published August 16, 2023 at 4:32 PM.
