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Thread: Richard A. Kennedy Sentenced to LWOP in 2017 PA Murder of Tausha Lee Baker

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    Richard A. Kennedy Sentenced to LWOP in 2017 PA Murder of Tausha Lee Baker


    Tausha Lee Baker


    Richard A. Kennedy and Amanda L. Cypher


    November 14, 2017

    Court Testimony Reveals Grisly Details in Tausha Baker Homicide Case

    By Scott Shindledecker
    explorevenango.com

    FRANKLIN, Pa. (EYT) – Two people accused of murdering a Franklin woman before dumping and burning her body in a wooded area were in court Monday morning.

    District Judge Matthew Kirtland ordered the charges against 28-year-old Richard A. Kennedy, of Vandergrift, and 32-year-old Amanda L. Cypher, of Franklin, held for court.

    Kennedy and Cypher are accused of the crime which was apparently over a botched drug deal. Police believe Kennedy used a pair of brass knuckles and a heavy frying pan to beat to death 25-year-old Tausha Lee Baker, of Franklin, on Friday, October 27. Cypher is accused of being involved in the crime and helping to cover it up.

    Kennedy is facing charges of Criminal Homicide; Conspiracy – Criminal Homicide; and Aggravated Assault, all first-degree felonies, and Abuse of a Corpse and Tampering with or Fabricating Physical Evidence, both second-degree misdemeanors.

    District Attorney Shawn White had charges added to the indictment against Kennedy, including Aggravated Assault, a second-degree felony, and three first-degree misdemeanors that include Possession of an Instrument of Crime With Intent; Possession of a Weapon; and Make Repairs/Sell/Etc. Offensive Weapons.

    Cypher is facing charges of Conspiracy – Criminal Homicide and Aggravated Assault, both first-degree felonies, and Abuse of a Corpse and Tampering with or Fabricating Physical Evidence, both second-degree misdemeanors. A charge of Aggravated Assault, a second-degree felony was also added.

    Judge Kirtland Hears Testimonies During Preliminary Hearing

    Judge Kirtland heard testimony from 11 different people. Two men who lived in the house where Baker was killed testified, as well as Baker’s father, four investigators, and the Venango County coroner.

    Testimonies from Bill Umstead, who was renting the house (pictured below), and Mark Daniels, who lived there, revealed that Kennedy and Cypher were at the residence looking for Baker. They said she sold them $200.00 worth of methamphetamine instead of crack cocaine. They were trying to get their money back.

    Umstead said he was asleep when the crime occurred sometime in the early-morning hours of October 27.

    He testified to drinking heavily with Daniels during the evening of Thursday, October 26. He said that he and Daniels got into an argument. Daniels said the argument was because Umstead wanted more vodka from the bottle they were drinking. Daniels told him he couldn’t have any, and Umstead decided to go upstairs and go to bed.

    Later, Kennedy went upstairs and told Umstead that “if he needed anyone taken care of, he would do it” while brandishing the brass knuckles.

    Umstead told Kennedy not to do anything to Daniels because it wasn’t a big deal.

    Umstead said he closed and locked his bedroom door after Kennedy left. Then, he turned on the TV before falling asleep.

    Umstead said he didn’t know if Baker had been at his house before he fell asleep.

    Umstead testified that the next morning – Friday, October 27 – he woke up and heard voices downstairs. When he tried to go downstairs, Kennedy stopped him, telling him not to come down because “it’s not pretty.” Kennedy had told him, “I need time to clean up.”

    Umstead said Kennedy had his hand wrapped in a rag, and there was a rag wrapped around his face. Umstead thought Kennedy was cooking meth because he had seen other people do that when they cooked meth.

    However, Kennedy had not been cooking meth, according to Umstead. Umstead said he then went back to the bedroom, looked out the window, and saw Cypher with one foot in a “Jeep-type” vehicle and one foot still on the ground.

    After Kennedy and Cypher left the residence, Umstead then came downstairs where he saw the refrigerator was moved, the garbage can overturned, and the air conditioner out of the window.

    He asked Daniels, “Is that blood?” because he is supposedly color blind and wasn’t sure. Daniels said that it was blood. Umstead also saw a frying pan with a large dent in it in the kitchen sink. He said he saw blood on a closet door, floorboard frame, and a bloody handprint on a door. Umstead took the frying pan and threw it out into the yard.

    He then walked to a nearby bar “After Hours” where he was for one to 1-1/2 hours. He then returned home and took a nap for awhile.

    Umstead said he also saw a lot of blood under a toolbox, and he saw a red-colored stain on a towel that had been in the washer.

    Umstead and Daniels said neither one of them heard anything during the time when the beating allegedly occurred.

    Umstead testified that he told Daniels, “We gotta call the police. I think something bad happened here.”

    He then walked to the home of Tausha’s father, Doug Baker, to talk to him and to try to tell him what was going on; but, before he got Doug Baker to understand him, he said he saw Cypher and Kennedy there.

    Umstead returned home to the residence at 1313 New Street, and at that point, Daniels was calling the police.

    When officers from Franklin City Police arrived, Umstead and Daniels spoke with them. Then, Kennedy and Cypher were seen at the corner of New and 13th Street, and police gave chase.

    They soon detained Cypher, but Kennedy ran from the area.

    Daniels gave his testimony stating that he didn’t go to bed until around 4:00 a.m. and that Kennedy and Cypher were still at the house, as well as another man. Daniels said another man – Greg – came to the New Street residence before he went to bed. Greg Militello was living at Doug Baker’s home where Tausha also resided. Daniels said he heard “Amanda” trying to get Tausha to come over so that they could get drugs.

    Daniels said after he went to bed, he heard a yell.

    “I assumed (the defendants) were arguing, but I didn’t go down.”

    Later, when Daniels asked Kennedy what had happened, Kennedy said he had cut his hand, but didn’t say how.

    Tausha’s father, Doug, then testified. He said he had been drinking since Wednesday because it was his birthday and also had smoked some marijuana. He wasn’t sure about when he saw certain people.

    “My mind is so scattered right now,” Baker said during his testimony. “I still haven’t accepted this.”

    Another Franklin resident, Penny McCoy, testified that Kennedy and Cypher had shown up at her residence on Hillside Avenue where she lives with her boyfriend, Kevin Yeager. Yeager wasn’t there at the time because police had arrested him for assaulting McCoy earlier on October 27.

    McCoy said she knew Kennedy from years ago and hadn’t seen him for awhile. She testified that she saw both defendants wash their hands and change clothes before leaving.

    When Franklin Police Lt. Aaron Campbell went to McCoy’s residence, he received permission to search it.

    Lt. Campbell testified that he saw several items that McCoy said didn’t belong to her in an upstairs bedroom. When the officer searched another bedroom, he noticed an access panel to the attic had been displaced.

    “When I looked in I saw a pair of gold and white Air Jordans. When I pulled the shoes out, there appeared to be blood on the shoelaces, sides, and heels of the shoe,” Lt. Campbell said.

    A resident who lives nearby testified that he and his wife were driving to Franklin to shop and have dinner when they passed a vehicle parked at a known dump site between 4:30 p.m. and 4:45 p.m. They saw two people at the vehicle, but couldn’t positively identify them.

    “It’s a place where people dump garbage over the bank. We saw a black man with long hair. The hatch was open, and we could see garbage bags inside,” said the man. “They looked at us, and we looked at them. We were mad because we didn’t like people dumping garbage there.”

    “We didn’t see any smoke or fire at the time.”

    Tom Sherman, a public safety officer at Grove City College and the chief of the Polk Volunteer Fire Department, testified that he received a call from Franklin Police around 5:10 p.m. about smoke being seen on Waterworks Road.

    Sherman said Assistant Chief Jeff Larson and two other firefighters put out the fire and discovered a body before he arrived.

    “When I saw the burned body, I got our guys out of there, and we put up caution tape to secure the scene,” Sherman said.

    Venango County Coroner Christina Rugh testified that she was called to the scene at 6:27 p.m.

    “The person was laying on her back, and her extremities, head, and face were severely burned. We made a tentative ID at about 11:27 p.m. based in part on the tattoos found on her.”

    “One on her back read ‘Mendez’ while there were others including ‘Steven’ and with a heart.”

    Rugh testified she attended Tausha Baker’s autopsy on Monday, October 30, in Erie, that was conducted by long-time coroner Dr. Eric Vey.

    “The report said she (Baker) had multiple sharp-force wounds and blunt force trauma wounds to her head,” Rugh said.

    Rugh said she saw injuries to her head and torso area on both sides.

    Franklin City Police Detective Kevin Saragian testified that before he interviewed Cypher, she was asleep in the squad room of the police department.

    Saragian said Cypher referred to Kennedy as “Mark Himes” because he had warrants in Allegheny County.

    He also testified that Cypher admitted to being in the McCoy house on October 27. She said she hadn’t seen the bloody scene at the New Street residence, but she had heard about it from Bill Umstead.

    There was also testimony from Saragian about a vehicle owned by Militello, a 2011 Ford Edge, a small SUV.

    Saragian testified that Militello said Tausha had borrowed it, and it was missing. It was found on Monday, October 30, on Elk Street, and Franklin-based State Police performed a crime scene investigation on it.

    Blood was found throughout the vehicle, and wet clothes were found in a white, plastic garbage bag in the rear cargo area.

    Saragian said when Kennedy was interviewed, he claimed he didn’t know Baker and had never seen her. The detective also testified that Kennedy said he cut his left-hand cooking at Bill’s. He said he was “high” and wasn’t sure about being at McCoy’s house.

    Kennedy ended the interview when he said he wanted to go to bed and didn’t want to talk anymore. At that point, he was arrested.

    Detective Paul Swatzler – who was previously a criminal investigator with the state police and is currently an investigator with the county – testified that he reviewed video surveillance from various cameras that showed a Ford Edge on Waterworks Road as well as in the neighborhoods of the crime scene and McCoy’s residence.

    Kennedy and Cypher remain lodged in the Venango County Jail. Bail has been denied.

    http://explorevenango.com/court-test...homicide-case/

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    DA seeks death penalty in Venango County murder case

    By Scott Bremner
    yourerie.com

    A Venango County judge has determined that a high profile murder case may be a little too high profile. The attorneys are being prohibited from talking about the case.

    The District Attorney is seeking a death penalty option for Richard Kennedy who, along with Amanda Cypher, is charged with beating and setting 25-year-old Tausha Baker on fire.

    Baker's body was found when firefighters put out a small fire on Waterworks Road. Police believe that she was beaten in a home in Franklin then taken to a field to be set on fire.

    The judge issued the gag order during a conference to update the status of the court case.

    http://www.yourerie.com/news/local-n...ase/1120712727

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    June 4, 2019

    Cypher Sentenced to Time Served in Tausha Baker Murder Case


    FRANKLIN, Pa. (EYT) – Amanda Cypher was sentenced to time served on Monday afternoon on charges related to the death of Tausha Baker.

    On Monday, June 3, Senior Judge H. William White sentenced 34-year-old Amanda Lynn Cypher – of Franklin and currently lodged in the Venango County Jail – to time served.

    Cypher, who testified for the prosecution in the case of Richard Kennedy, was offered a plea deal for her testimony.

    She pleaded guilty to Abuse of a Corpse and Tampering With Physical Evidence, both second-degree misdemeanor charges.

    She was ordered to 12 months less one day to 24 months less one day, $100.00 fine, and $1.00 restitution for the count of Abuse of a Corpse and six months to 24 months less one day, $100.00 fine, and $1.00 restitution for the count of Tampering With Physical Evidence plus fines and restitution.

    Judge White explained the $1.00 restitution was to allow the possibility of restitution, so the amount can be changed at a later date.

    The aggregate sentence is 18 months less two days to 48 months less three days. Cypher has served 584 days in the Venango County Jail and was immediately paroled; however, she will be transported to Butler County Jail to be resentenced on a parole revocation.

    On April 17, 2019, Richard Kennedy was found guilty of first-degree murder in the October 27, 2017 death of Tausha Baker.

    He will be sentenced at 1:30 p.m. on August 22, 2019, with Judge Oliver J. Lobaugh presiding.


    In addition to first-degree murder, Kennedy was also found guilty of second-degree murder, kidnapping, aggravated assault causing bodily injury, aggravated assault causing bodily injury with a deadly weapon, possession of an instrument of crime, possession of a prohibited offensive weapon, abuse of a corpse, and tampering with physical evidence.

    According to court documents, Kennedy and his then-girlfriend, Amanda Cypher, were at a residence at 1313 New Street in Franklin, Pa.

    Sometime after 8:00 a.m. on October 27, 2017, Tausha Baker came to the 1313 New Street house. Cypher said as she and Baker were entering the kitchen area, Kennedy attacked Baker with a frying pan beating her in the head. Cypher then said that Kennedy tied Baker up and made her call Greg Militello to procure more drugs and possibly money. Cypher then went to Militello’s to get the drugs. When she returned, Kennedy brought Baker, who Cypher said was still alive at the time, out to a Ford Edge owned by Militello. who during testimony told the jury he was selling crack. The Ford Edge was driven to 1313 New Street by Baker.

    With Cypher driving and Kennedy riding in the backseat with Baker, Baker was taken to a spot on Waterworks Road. At that point, Cypher testified that she saw Kennedy stab Baker multiple times in the upper torso area. After stabbing Baker, Cypher said Kennedy then dropped a basketball-size rock on Baker before dumping Baker’s body over a hillside in a dump area.

    The couple then drove towards Franklin stopping at Pioneer Cemetery where they hid some of their clothes, and Kennedy threw the knife into the river, according to Cypher. Cypher then said Kennedy stole a gas can and ordered her to drive back to the site where Baker’s body had been dumped. Once back at the site, Cypher said Kennedy lit the body of fire.

    The duo then returned to Franklin and visited a couple of difference locations including the house of Penny McCoy, where police found Kennedy’s Air Jordan sneakers hidden in an attic, a house owned by Tausha Baker’s father, Doug Baker, where Tausha Baker was living at the time of her death and where Militello was also staying in the basement, and then back to the 1313 New Street house.

    Eventually, around 4:30 p.m., Kennedy and Cypher went back to the Waterworks Road site, and Cypher said Kennedy lit Baker’s body on fire again. The body was discovered a short time later by Polk firefighters who had been called to a scene of a suspected brush fire.

    After burning Baker’s body a second time, Kennedy and Cypher returned to Franklin and were spotted by the residents of the 1313 New Street House, who had called police around 4:00 p.m. to report Baker as missing. While Cypher didn’t try to flee police, Kennedy evaded police until he was captured around 7:00 p.m. in the Arbor Circle area.

    Neither Cypher nor Kennedy admitted to the killing of Baker during questioning by police on October 27 and October 28, 2017, but on December 22, 2017, Cypher asked to speak to the police. That is when she laid out most of the above story, which, for the most part, matched what she told the jury during the trial.

    During Kennedy’s trial, the prosecution called Joseph Ibarra, who was a cellmate of Kennedy’s at the Venango County Jail, and Ibarra testified that Kennedy had told him that he (Kennedy) had killed Baker.

    http://explorevenango.com/breaking-n...r-murder-case/

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    Kennedy Sentenced to Life with No Parole in Murder of Tausha Baker

    By Chris Rossetti
    exploreClarion

    FRANKLIN, Pa. (EYT) – Venango County President Judge Oliver Lobaugh sentenced Richard Kennedy to life in prison with no chance of parole on Thursday, August 22, in the 2017 death of Tasha Baker.

    In a two week trial that ended on April 17, 2019, a jury found Kennedy guilty of a number of charges, including first-degree murder, in the death of Baker in Franklin.

    During the spring trial, Venango County District Attorney Shawn White laid out a gruesome murder scene that had Kennedy beating Baker at a residence at 1313 New Street in Franklin, Pa., then taking her out to a spot on Waterworks Road where Kennedy then stabbed Baker in the upper torso area before dropping a basketball-size rock on Baker. He then dumped Baker’s body over a hillside in a dump area.

    After driving back into Franklin to dispose of some of his and his then-girlfriend Amanda Cypher’s clothes and throwing the knife into the river, Kennedy returned to the dumpsite and lite Baker’s body on fire. He and Cypher then returned to Franklin before going back to the dumpsite a third time so he could light Baker’s body on fire a second time.

    During the trial, Cypher testified against Kennedy after making a plea deal with the Commonwealth. On June 3, she was sentenced to time served – she had been in jail since the time of the murder – by Senior Judge H. William White (see full details of Cypher’s sentence below).

    Kennedy was originally going to be sentenced May 30 but the sentencing was delayed for unknown reasons.

    DETAILS OF THE MURDER

    According to the case presented by White, sometime after 8:00 a.m. on October 27, 2017, Baker came to the house of 1313 New Street. As she and Cypher were entering the kitchen, Kennedy attacked Baker with a frying pan beating her in the head.

    Cypher testified that Kennedy then tied Baker up and made her call Greg Militello – an acquaintance of Baker who was living in the same house that she and her father were living in at the time of the murder. Kennedy made Baker asked Militello, who told the jury he was selling crack, to procure more drugs and possibly money, and Cypher then went to the house Militello was staying at to get the drugs. When she returned, Kennedy brought Baker, who Cypher said was still alive at the time, out to a Ford Edge owned by Militello but being driven by Cypher – Militello wasn’t at the scene.

    With Cypher driving and Kennedy riding in the backseat with Baker, Baker was taken to the spot on Waterworks Road. At that point, Cypher testified that she saw Kennedy stab Baker multiple times in the upper torso area. After stabbing Baker, Cypher said Kennedy then dropped a basketball-size rock on Baker before dumping Baker’s body over a hillside in a dump area.

    The couple then drove towards Franklin stopping at Pioneer Cemetery where they hid some of their clothes, and Kennedy threw the knife into the river, according to Cypher. Cypher then said Kennedy stole a gas can and ordered her to drive back to the site where Baker’s body had been dumped. Once back at the site, Cypher said Kennedy lit the body of fire.

    The duo then returned to Franklin and visited a couple of different locations including the house of Penny McCoy, where police found Kennedy’s Air Jordan sneakers hidden in an attic, a house owned by Tausha Baker’s father, Doug Baker, where Tausha Baker was living at the time of her death and where Militello was also staying in the basement, and then back to the 1313 New Street house.

    Eventually, around 4:30 p.m., Kennedy and Cypher went back to the Waterworks Road site, and Cypher said Kennedy lit Baker’s body on fire again. The body was discovered a short time later by Polk firefighters who had been called to a scene of a suspected brush fire.

    After burning Baker’s body a second time, Kennedy and Cypher returned to Franklin and were spotted by the residents of the 1313 New Street House, who had called police around 4:00 p.m. to report Baker as missing. While Cypher didn’t try to flee police, Kennedy evaded police until he was captured around 7:00 p.m. in the Arbor Circle area.

    Neither Cypher nor Kennedy admitted to the killing of Baker during questioning by police on October 27 and October 28, 2017, but on December 22, 2017, Cypher asked to speak to the police. That is when she laid out most of the above story, which pretty much matched what she told the jury during the trial.

    The prosecution also called Joseph Ibarra, who was a cellmate of Kennedy’s at the Venango County jail, and Ibarra testified that Kennedy had told him that he (Kennedy) had killed Baker.

    Defense attorney’s Robert Kinnear and James Miller tried to argue that Cypher and not Kennedy was the real killer and hinged their case on the fact that the Commonwealth had sent neither the frying pan nor the rock away for DNA testing.

    But, the testimony of both Cypher and Ibarra coupled with testimony from Militello, William Umstead, who was the primary renter of the 1313 New Street house, and Mark Daniels, who lived at 1313 New Street at the time of the murder, coupled with DNA evidence linking Kennedy to Baker and video evidence that collaborated other testimony about the whereabouts of both Kennedy and Cypher seemingly was enough to convince the jury in short order, as the jury took the case at 12:43 p.m. and said they had a verdict at approximately 3:30 p.m. That verdict was then delivered to the defendant by jury foreman John Martin at a little after 4:00 p.m.

    In addition to first-degree murder, Kennedy was also found guilty of second-degree murder, kidnapping, aggravated assault causing bodily injury, aggravated assault causing bodily injury with a deadly weapon, possession of an instrument of crime, possession of a prohibited offensive weapon, abuse of a corpse, and tampering with physical evidence.

    THE CHARGES

    All definitions are based on what Lobaugh told the jury when he charged them and may not be completely what was said but are intended to give the reader a better understanding of each charge.

    COUNT ONE: FIRST-DEGREE MURDER

    Specific intent to kill – The defendant specifically intended to kill with malice and was conscious of his own intentions. No planning or thought is needed in advance. It can happen quickly, but the defendant had enough time to fully form intent and consciousness.

    COUNT TWO: SECOND-DEGREE MURDER

    Also known as felony murder, it’s killing in connection with a felony – in this case, both kidnapping and the two counts of aggravated assault. There need not be an intention to kill the victim, and the victim need not die immediately.

    COUNT FOUR: AGGRAVATED ASSAULT CAUSING SERIOUS BODILY INJURY

    The defendant caused serious bodily injury with a marked indifference to human life, and the action was intentional, knowing and reckless.

    COUNT FIVE: AGGRAVATED ASSAULT CAUSING SERIOUS BODILY INJURY WITH A DEADLY WEAPON

    The same as count four but causing said injuries with a deadly weapon.

    COUNT SIX: KIDNAPPING

    It can happen in one of two ways. One way is if a person unlawfully removes another person a substantial distance “under circumstances” from the place where he or she was located. The second way is if a person unlawfully confines another person for a “substantial” period of time in a place of “isolation.” Lobaugh, on request from counsel, said that the person had to be alive when they were either removed or confined.

    COUNT SEVEN: POSSESSING AN INSTRUMENT OF CRIME

    An instrument or object that is commonly used to commit a crime. In this case, Lobaugh specifically said the knife used to stab Baker and metal knuckles that Kennedy was said to be in possession of were examples of instruments of crime.

    COUNT EIGHT: POSSESSING A PROHIBITED OFFENSIVE WEAPON

    Metal knuckles are illegal to possess in Pennsylvania, according to Lobaugh.

    COUNT NINE: ABUSE OF A CORPSE

    Treating a corpse in a way that would outrage family sensibilities.

    COUNT TEN: TAMPERING WITH PHYSICAL EVIDENCE

    Lobaugh used the examples of hiding clothing and disposing of the bodies as ways that evidence can be tampered with.

    Editor’s Note: Count three, third-degree murder, didn’t have to be voted on by the jury because they found Kennedy guilty of first-degree murder. If they had found Kennedy not guilty of first-degree murder then they would have had to vote on third-degree murder, which is the killing of a person with malice.

    CYPHER SENTENCE

    Cypher pleaded guilty to Abuse of a Corpse and Tampering With Physical Evidence, both second-degree misdemeanors.

    She was ordered to 12 months less one day to 24 months less one day, $100.00 fine, and $1.00 restitution for the count of Abuse of a Corpse and six months to 24 months less one day, $100.00 fine, and $1.00 restitution for the count of Tampering With Physical Evidence plus fines and restitution.

    White said the $1.00 restitution was to allow the possibility of restitution, so the amount can be changed at a later date.

    The aggregate sentence is 18 months less two days to 48 months less three days. Cypher served 584 days in the Venango County Jail and was immediately paroled; however, she was transported to Butler County Jail to be resentenced on a parole revocation.

    http://www.exploreclarion.com/2019/0...-tausha-baker/
    Last edited by Steven; 08-23-2019 at 08:07 AM.

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