Don't use the victim's credit card 48 times in the 48 hours before your arrest, especially if you are going to explain to your real girlfriend that the victim was just a woman, somebody he used as a cash cow!"
2015-M-283 State of Minnesota, Respondent, vs. Thomas James Fox, Appellant.
2015-M-283 State of Minnesota, Respondent, vs. Thomas James Fox, Appellant.
Appellant Thomas Fox was found guilty by a Washington County jury of first-degree premeditated murder and first-degree felony murder arising out of the December 2011 stabbing death of Lori Baker.
THE CRIME: On the morning of December 28, 2011, Oakdale police responded to a call that the
body of Lori Baker had been discovered in her apartment. Upon their arrival, police found the victim’s body on the bedroom floor, covered by a comforter “soaked with blood.” A Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) crime scene team processed Baker’s apartment. The BCA found blood spatter on the wall, what appeared to be laundry detergent throughout the bedroom, and empty containers of laundry detergent, rubbing alcohol, and a cleaning product on the bedroom floor. Baker’s silver Mazda hatchback was not found in the parking lot or garage.
The medical examiner (ME) concluded that Baker died from exsanguination caused by 48 stab wounds to multiple parts of her body. The ME observed blunt force injuries to Baker’s body, including contusions around her left eye, abrasions on the back of her head, and injuries consistent with someone placing a hand over her mouth. The ME determined that the weapon used was “probably” a “kitchen type knife.”
Police learned that Fox was dating Baker and that Fox stayed in Baker’s apartment some of the time. A woman who lived in the apartment directly below Baker’s unit told police that she heard stomping noises and then repetitive, loud screaming that lasted about 10 minutes coming from Baker’s apartment around 11:00 p.m. on December 27.
Additionally, Baker’s debit card had been used in about 48 transactions in 15 different locations between the evening of December 27 and the afternoon of December 29. Police obtained surveillance videos, which show Fox and a vehicle matching the description of Baker’s vehicle involved in several of those transactions.
Fox was located with Baker's car and cards and arrested on December 29, 20.
Fox's friend J.N. testified Fox told her that Lori was “just a woman that he had met that he was getting money from—just getting money from, somebody like a cash cow.”
THE CRIME: On the morning of December 28, 2011, Oakdale police responded to a call that the
body of Lori Baker had been discovered in her apartment. Upon their arrival, police found the victim’s body on the bedroom floor, covered by a comforter “soaked with blood.” A Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) crime scene team processed Baker’s apartment. The BCA found blood spatter on the wall, what appeared to be laundry detergent throughout the bedroom, and empty containers of laundry detergent, rubbing alcohol, and a cleaning product on the bedroom floor. Baker’s silver Mazda hatchback was not found in the parking lot or garage.
The medical examiner (ME) concluded that Baker died from exsanguination caused by 48 stab wounds to multiple parts of her body. The ME observed blunt force injuries to Baker’s body, including contusions around her left eye, abrasions on the back of her head, and injuries consistent with someone placing a hand over her mouth. The ME determined that the weapon used was “probably” a “kitchen type knife.”
Police learned that Fox was dating Baker and that Fox stayed in Baker’s apartment some of the time. A woman who lived in the apartment directly below Baker’s unit told police that she heard stomping noises and then repetitive, loud screaming that lasted about 10 minutes coming from Baker’s apartment around 11:00 p.m. on December 27.
Additionally, Baker’s debit card had been used in about 48 transactions in 15 different locations between the evening of December 27 and the afternoon of December 29. Police obtained surveillance videos, which show Fox and a vehicle matching the description of Baker’s vehicle involved in several of those transactions.
Fox was located with Baker's car and cards and arrested on December 29, 20.
Fox's friend J.N. testified Fox told her that Lori was “just a woman that he had met that he was getting money from—just getting money from, somebody like a cash cow.”
The district court entered judgment of conviction on both counts and sentenced Fox to life imprisonment without the possibility of release on the first-degree premeditated murder conviction.
THIS APPEAL: On direct appeal, Fox argues that the district court erred because (1) the court denied his motion to suppress statements he made to police; (2) the court failed to give his proposed circumstantial evidence instruction to the jury; and (3) the evidence is insufficient to support his conviction of
first-degree premeditated murder and first-degree felony murder. Because we conclude that Fox’s arguments lack merit, we affirm.
1. The district court did not err in denying appellant’s motion to suppress the statements he made to police because appellant validly waived his Miranda rights under federal and state constitutional standards.
2. The district court did not err when it declined to give appellant’s proposed jury instruction on circumstantial evidence.
3. The State presented sufficient evidence to support appellant’s convictions.
4. The claims in appellant’s pro se supplemental brief are without merit.
Affirmed.
Dietzen (Gildea, Page, Anderson, Stras, Wright, and Lillehaug)
[MURDER]
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