WACO, Texas (ABP) – Items are being collected for an online auction to help with legal fees for the parents of a slain Baptist pastor’s wife who are seeking custody of their granddaughters while the girls’ father serves prison time for murdering his wife and their mother.
Jim and Linda Dulin of Waco, Texas, recently marked the fifth anniversary of the death of their 31-year-old daughter, Kari Baker, on April 7, 2006. At first, authorities ruled her death a suicide by overdose of sleeping pills, but after becoming suspicious about events surrounding her death, the Dulins hired a private investigator and eventually filed a wrongful-death lawsuit.
In March 2009 the district attorney got involved and indicted Matt Baker, the Dulins’ former son-in-law and a pastor of Baptist churches in Texas, for murder. He was convicted in January 2010 and sentenced to 65 years in prison.
In Texas a parent does not lose custody for murdering a spouse, and Baker gave guardianship of his two daughters to his parents, who still believe their son is innocent.
The Dulins, who have visitation rights with their granddaughters once a month, filed suit seeking custody of the girls. More than a year later, with legal bills mounting, a group of friends stepped forward to organize a fund raiser through a “Justice for Kari” website and Twitter.
Donations of used items, services and cash are rolling in for an online auction scheduled May 21-22. Bidding will start at 8 a.m. on Saturday, May 21, and continue until 5 p.m. on Sunday, May 22. Donations will be accepted until May 15, but organizers said making them sooner rather than later will help with cataloguing.
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Bob Allen is senior writer for Associated Baptist Press.
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