News 13 spoke with Walter Smith, who says another motion was not decided at Friday’s hearing. Smith has also entered a motion for Judge Bill Wright to waive the jury recommendation if Williams is convicted.

Smith explained that if the motion is granted, sentencing would be left to the sole discretion of the Judge, without a vote from the jury guarding the death penalty.  Smith says he wants jurors in the case to be able to focus on the evidence in the case without the emotional concerns of considering the sentence.

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Trial for Baker Murders Suspect Postponed
06/12/09 - 06:32 PM

Jackson County Floridan

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Quadruple murder suspect Wesley Williams’ trial was pushed forward to September 21 at a hearing Friday, largely because his defense attorney believes the murders were drug-related.

“The real reason for the trial being continued is I’ve got a witness in Colorado that I can’t get here in time; and my DNA analyst is out of town and there might be further work to try to ascertain the identity of the person whose DNA is on the duct tape that was on one of the children — which was not Wesley Williams DNA and doesn’t appear to be the DNA of anyone investigated up to this point,” said Deputy Public Defender Walter Smith, who represents Williams.

Williams, 25,  is accused of killing Danielle Baker, 19, and three of her four children — Amad, 3, Amarion, 1 and Aaron, 3 weeks. Baker was shot dead on March 17, 2005, inside her Cottondale Village apartment.

Two of the boys were Williams’ sons.

Smith believes Baker and her children were killed in an attempt to get her to reveal information on a drug dealer who owed money to Miami drug suppliers.

On Friday, he sought assistance from the State Attorney’s Office in relocating defense witness Maurice Jones from the Jackson County Correctional Facility.

Smith said Jones was jumped by other inmates because of his role as a defense witness in the trial, and he’s concerned Jones won’t cooperate as a witness if he is further intimidated.

“Maurice Jones claims that a fellow hanging around Danielle had ripped off some cocaine dealers in Miami, and they were out looking for him and he had been at Danielle’s apartment,” Smith said.

He said the continuance of the trial was to buy more time to fly in defense witness Skylar Keys from Colorado.

Smith said Keys was placed at the scene on the night of the murder. According to Smith, Keys was seen asking Baker’s neighbor to use her bathroom so he could wash his hands. Keys at one point lived in Jackson County.

In addition, Smith said Keys’ name was written down on a piece of paper in Baker’s bedroom.

“We may be looking for somebody not directly connected to here or even to Jackson County at all,” Smith said Friday. “For instance, the duct tape that was used, it’s not a brand that’s available in this part of the world. There are things leading me to believe this was somebody from somewhere else.”

Smith said he’s trying to get DNA evidence analyzed more thoroughly than Florida Department of Law Enforcement equipment allowed. While it was confirmed that the DNA didn’t belong to Williams, the technology couldn’t narrow down to whom the DNA belonged.

“I can tell you who everybody else thinks did it. The problem is, (Williams) could be convicted because there’s nobody else to point the finger at. I’m trying to show that there was someone else,” Smith said. “The main thing is, somebody taped up those kids. That person was wearing rubber gloves. The tips of those stuck to the duct tape that was used. We got DNA off of those gloves, and it’s not Wesley Williams’. That’s a scientific fact, beyond all dispute.”