'Dateline NBC': Where is James Baldwin now? Former police officer and dispatcher convicted of wife’s murder
CHESTER, SOUTH CAROLINA: This week's 'Dateline NBC' will center around the 2016 murder case of Judy Orr Baldwin and the investigation into her now-convicted murderer, James Baldwin. James is currently completing his term in a place that isn't publicly identified, according to the South Carolina Department of Corrections.
He was taken into custody on August 14, 2018. James has not experienced any disciplinary action or attempted an escape throughout his incarceration.
His jail records indicated that he had not obtained any academic credits either.
On March 10, 2020, James began working as a "wardkeeper assistant," according to the Department of Corrections database. According to the state DOC, helping with a housing unit's daily operations is one of a wardkeeper assistant's responsibilities, Fox Carolina was informed.
In a different case unconnected to the murder, James was also accused. James was charged in 2017 in York County, South Carolina, with setting fire to a woman's mobile home and obtaining insurance proceeds from the incident.
When he was detained in connection with his wife's death in 2018, he was released on bail, according to The Herald.
James is a former law enforcement officer who served in the York and Columbia police departments, according to The Mirror. He also worked for a number of years as a dispatcher for the Chester County Sheriff's Office in South Carolina.
What happened to Judy Orr Baldwin?
According to the publication, Judy lost her first spouse in a biking accident, and they were married for over five years. Then, according to WBTV, on December 14, 2016, James killed Judy at their house and fabricated an automobile accident to hide the crime.
Judy's death appeared to be an accident at first, but further investigation revealed evidence that implicated James. Judy's killer, James, first claimed to the police that they were headed to the hospital when the accident occurred.
That day, he said, Judy was hanging Christmas decorations when she fell from a ladder. James said that he swerved to avoid colliding with a truck when they were traveling to the Piedmont Medical Center.
He said their car fell down an embankment, and he woke up to see Judy in front of their vehicle. James said that at around fifty miles per hour, he lost control of the car.
What were the charges against James Baldwin?
Authorities discovered evidence to the contrary in their Jeep and at the scene of the collision. The fact that the car only traveled at a speed of five miles per hour as they downed the embankment demonstrated his control over it.
In addition, authorities discovered a distinct tire mark at the collision scene, which refuted his account. Another WBTV report quoted a South Carolina Highway Patrol officer as saying that his account did not match "what's at the collision scene."
Judy's family has expressed suspicions over her death in other places, particularly with her sons. After examining her remains, the coroner determined that the head injuries were not compatible with being in an automobile accident.
Judy had been conversing with James in the automobile prior to the collision, which James revealed to the State Law Enforcement Division (SLED) during a subsequent investigation. Medical specialists asserted that a person with such a serious brain injury could not have been able to speak.
About two months after Judy passed away, James moved in with Teri King and abandoned their house. It was claimed by the prosecution that he was having an affair with Teri.
Furthermore, blood evidence was allegedly discovered by SLED rather high up the wall at the Baldwins' residence.
They also discovered that James had obtained insurance on accidental death in his wife's name.
Six months prior to the reported collision, the cops found the insurance had already reached maturity and the only one who was the beneficiary was James.
James was eventually taken into custody by the authorities in August 2018 and charged with Judy's murder as the evidence against him grew.
Black Box in James Baldwin’s Jeep proved to be key evidence
The black box, also known as the data recorder in James' Jeep, was a crucial piece of evidence in the murder investigation of Judy. According to Dateline NBC, he told investigators that on December 14, 2016, he was traveling on a remote, dark road when he swerved to avoid another car, skidded off the road, and into an embankment.
He said that his wife had been flung from the car. On the scene, she was discovered dead.
According to WBTV, Lance Cpl Brian Trotter, an accident reconstruction specialist with the South Carolina Highway Patrol, testified that a flawless tire print was captured on camera at the crime scene. He further stated that the driver was in charge of the Jeep according to the Event Data Recorder.
James also gave the impression that their relationship was going well to police investigators, according to CN2. James kept updating his Facebook page after Judy passed away, showing pictures of himself with his motorbikes and his grandchildren.
This was before his arrest. There was little indication in the public posts about his wife's passing.
Judy posted a photo of herself and her spouse holding hands just a week before she passed away. They were both grinning, and he had on a Santa hat.
He had on a leather vest with the Carolina Thunder Christian Motorcycle Club patch, which was an organization they both belonged to. She had posted a photo of their first Christmas together in 2011 two days prior.
Chester County Coroner accuse detective of steering him away from homicide case
Judy was well acquainted with the Chester County Coroner. According to testimony given during James' murder trial, he played a crucial role in making sure that justice was served in her case.
Chester County Coroner Terry Tinker told jurors a detective, Chester County Detective Chris Reynolds guided him away from homicide when they arrived at the collision scene, according to WBTV.
According to the results of the inquiry, Judy was murdered and staged to appear like a vehicle accident after she was battered to death in her house. Longtime police officer James drove his Jeep off a secluded, dark road.
He said to investigators that on December 14, 2016, he swerved to avoid hitting another automobile and struck an embankment, which threw his wife out of the car. On the scene, she was discovered dead.
Judy's injuries could not have been caused by an accident, according to the results of an autopsy. When blood was discovered on the mantlepiece, family members became immediately suspicious of the circumstances surrounding her death.
James said to the detectives that his spouse had fallen while putting up the Christmas lights.
When Terry realized how badly injured Judy was, he made the decision to do two autopsies on her corpse. He eventually discovered that she had died from blunt force trauma, a 24-centimeter skull fracture, and severe hemorrhage.
As he awaited a meeting with investigators, Terry concluded Judy's cause of death but left unresolved the method of death. Judy's three head injuries suggested she had been battered to death.
On their floor, a shattered stocking hanger was discovered, according to evidence given during the trial. Dr Ross stated that the injuries were inconsistent with an accident since they were on both sides of her head, according to WBTV.
Terry informed the jury that he advocated for more research. He got a circuit court judge to convene a conference that resulted in the cooperation of many agencies.
A few months following Judy's passing, the State Law Enforcement Division subsequently became involved.
James Baldwin's affair with Teri King served as the motive
During Judy's murder inquiry, there were rumors that Jamie was having an affair. Judy and James were both members of the motorcycle club that Teri belonged to.
Teri testified at James's trial, refuting any sexual relationship she may have had with James. But according to CN2, she said that she moved in with Jamie only 1.5 months after the death of his wife.
James admitted to the investigators that he couldn't afford to maintain their home, so he was renting a room from her.
Chester County Detective admits to not gathering evidence from crime scene
In his testimony, Detective Chris stated that they did not look into Judy's death as a criminal matter at first. According to WBTV, despite seeing the blood when they went to the couple's house, they did not gather any evidence or guard the crime scene.
Prosecutors accuse James Baldwin of staging the crime scene
Judy died on December 14, 2016, as a result of blunt force trauma, according to court testimony. Solicitor Candice Lively stated that the postmortem report revealed a 24-centimeter fracture in her skull.
James's counsel stated that his client was in the garage obtaining equipment when he returned to see Judy on the floor.
When firefighters arrived on the site, they reported that Judy was unconscious. In a 911 call made that night, James is heard telling the operator that he had previously attempted CPR and that Judy was "not doing anything."
Candice wondered why James decided to drive her to Piedmont Medical Center rather than Chester's hospital, which was closer, and why he didn't contact 911 right away at the house. The defense said that because Piedmont was a superior medical institution, James took Judy there.
According to investigators, James covered up Judy's murder by portraying the collision on a dark Chester County road as the reason for her injuries. “He knows the system, he knows how it works intimately.”
Candice said that the Chester County Sheriff's Office, which was then run by former sheriff Alex Underwood, did not conduct a thorough first investigation into the issue. According to Candice, it took several months for SLED to be granted access to thoroughly examine the issue.
Candice displayed a picture of James and Alex from Facebook to demonstrate their tight bond.
Philip Jamieson, James's lawyer, described the image as a “publicity photo that politicians do all the time.”
Josh Orr, Judy's son, stated during his testimony that his mother had been married to his father for about 20 years before his father's death in a motorcycle accident. He added that he and his brother had a strong relationship with their mother and spoke to her on the phone or in person every day.
Josh said that his wife had contacted him the night before his mother passed away to let him know that Judy was in the hospital. He said that until he visited James in person in the hospital, he had not heard from him.
Josh said that upon arriving at Piedmont Medical Center, the administration led him to Jamie's room even though they were unable to locate his mother in the system.
Text conversations, according to Candice, demonstrated that Teri and James' acquaintance went beyond simple friendship.
Attorney Candice also showed an interview that James and Chris, a former Chester County officer, had only the day before Judy's burial. In the interview, James claims that he and Judy had no issues together.
Josh, however, claimed that although it appeared as though Judy and James were content after their spring 2012 wedding, Josh subsequently claimed that his mother appeared anxious as if she were treading carefully. Josh said that James would always go upstairs whenever he and his brother were over and that their relationship had soured.
Six months before Judy's passing, a life insurance policy was taken out in her name with James designated as the beneficiary, according to SLED agent Kristen Grant. Judy was the one who initially obtained the coverage, according to the defense.
Candice stated in her concluding remarks that James killed Judy on December 14, 2016, by beating her, because he wanted to be free to live with his girlfriend.
James's lawyer described the events as a terrible accident and said there was no evidence that James had ever abused Judy. At his own trial, James declined to testify.
“I don’t know what to say,” said James before the courtroom, “She fell from a ladder, I’m telling you. I was trying to get her to the hospital. I loved my wife more than anybody in this room. We had a great relationship.”
James was given a chance to speak by Judge Dan Hall following the guilty judgment, but before he handed down his punishment.
Judy Orr Baldwin's sons happy to put mother's death behind them with court's verdict
Josh testified that when his mother and Jamie were married in the spring of 2012, they appeared content. But as time went on, it appeared as though their bond had gotten worse and his mother was "walking on eggshells," according to CN2.
The week-long trial came to an end nearly three years after Judy's death in 2016; the jury debated for less than three hours before returning a guilty judgment. When the decision was announced, Judy's family, who claims to have been battling for justice for years, were obviously upset.
According to Judy's sons, the ruling allows them to move past their mother's passing and focus on the happy memories they shared with her.
“You feel like you can actually live now,” said Josh.
“It was so much tension. You feel like you can breathe now. We can spend time with our family and just laugh, you know, talk about mom and dad. We look forward to that now. We don’t have to bring his name up. We can move on,” said Josh.
'Dateline NBC' airs Fridays at 10.00 PM ET