Man Charged In East Rochester Double Shooting Testifies
BEAVER (KDKA) -- A man on trial for allegedly shooting his estranged wife and her friend in Beaver County took the stand.
Greg Baker is accused of fatally shooting 48-year-old Thomas Dougherty and wounding his now ex-wife, Linda Baker in a shopping plaza parking lot in East Rochester back in December of 2009.
The defense is trying to prove that the shooting was not premeditated in an attempt to avoid the death penalty.
"He's fighting for his life," Linda Baker said. "He's up for the death penalty. What else is he going to say but a bunch of lies?"
On the stand, Baker testified about the day of the shooting.
"I see Linda hugging and kissing a man. I asked Linda how she could do this to me," he said.
"There's no way to describe how I felt," he said. "I love her. I'll love her forever."
"It's a joke," Linda Baker said. "How do you … You shoot someone because you love them so much?"
Baker became combative during cross examination by Beaver County District Attorney Tony Berosh.
D.A.: "Are you telling us that you forgot shooting the other guy four times?"
Baker: "Yes."
Later the D.A. asks: "How many guns do you have? One hundred?"
Baker angrily responded: "I don't know. You have all the answers."
"Tony got him to show his true self and there was a piece of it ... people gasped and that's him," Linda Baker said.
She also says that the innocent victim, Thomas Dougherty, is being overlooked.
"Everyone's forgetting the reason why we're here," she said. "Nothing is mentioned about Tom being innocent."
Linda Baker says she fears for her life if her ex-husband ever gets released, but she's not sure if she wants him to face the death penalty.
The jury is expected to get the case early next week.
