A judge has approved a mental health evaluation for a man facing murder charges in connection with three brutal deaths on Hawaii’s Big Island that prosecutors are calling extraordinarily vicious and cruel.
Jacob Baker, 36, made a court appearance Monday where the judge approved his defense team’s request for a psychological fitness assessment. Baker stands accused of killing three elderly victims: two men aged 69 and another aged 79.
Court filings describe the murders as demonstrating “exceptional depravity,” with prosecutors characterizing them as “especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel.”
The victims were discovered over several days last week in the remote Puna area. Robert Shine, 69, was discovered submerged in a concrete pond. A day later, authorities found the body of 79-year-old Frederick Morse, known to friends as “Chitta,” located several hundred feet from where Shine was found. Police later that same day discovered 69-year-old John Carse deceased at a location 19 miles away from the other crime scenes.
Authorities conducted an extensive search across the expansive island before capturing Baker. The Puna region where the victims were located is characterized by dense vegetation and volcanic terrain, attracting residents who prefer alternative lifestyles and often exchange labor for housing.
The violent deaths have created anxiety among community members in this area surrounded by tropical forests and hardened lava flows.
Investigation records reveal disturbing evidence, including that Morse was discovered in his bed with multiple severed fingers. Shine suffered broken ribs and additional trauma, having been strangled before being placed in the concrete fish pond where investigators found him floating face-down. Carse was located face-down beneath metal roofing, with an autopsy revealing facial lacerations, damaged neck tissue, a fractured jaw, and other wounds.
A female witness informed police she had transported Baker to a retail location in Hilo, the largest city in eastern Hawaii, prior to the discoveries of the bodies. During their return trip, she reported that Baker displayed a recently bought knife and stated he would “shank all the rapists in Pahoa and anyone who messed with him.” Baker “reportedly spoke about the island being full of rapists and pedophiles and stated that he wanted to ‘chop them up with machetes.’”
The woman characterized Baker’s behavior as unstable, hostile, and excessively talkative, telling authorities he used the Spanish term for assassin when referring to himself. Investigators determined he also bought two sets of brass knuckles.
Following their shopping trip, she accompanied him to a tattoo parlor, where Baker received ink work beneath his left eye.
Baker remains in custody without bond. His psychological evaluation report is scheduled for completion by August 4, with a court hearing set for August 11.
If found guilty and if jurors determine Baker was aware his victims were elderly, or that the killings were particularly savage, he could receive a maximum penalty of life imprisonment without any chance of release. Without these aggravating factors, the possibility of parole would remain.
