Jury selected in Cynthia Baker murder trial, witnesses begin testifying Wednesday

Posted on November 12, 2019
Cynthia Baker, 41, of Normal, in McLean County Court Tuesday. (Photo courtesy HOI-ABC)

 

By HOI-ABC

BLOOMINGTON – The jury trial for a woman accused of killing her boyfriend’s 8-year-old daughter began Tuesday in McLean County Court.

Cynthia Baker, 41, of Normal, was facing 15 charges but prosecutors will now only pursue six in the death of Rica Rountree, according to our news partner HOI-ABC.

Baker now will be charged with one count of murder, which could carry a 20-to-60-year prison term, but if she is found guilty of the heinous way the child was killed, she could face her natural life in prison.

She also faces charges of aggravated battery, domestic battery and endangering the life of a child.

Prosecutors claim Baker kicked Rountree so hard in the stomach the child died as a result of her injuries. Rountree died January 26 after being transported from Normal to Peoria a day earlier.

During Tuesday’s trial, Judge Casey Costigan asked if she would like to negotiate a plea deal with the state, but Baker denied.

Costigan said he expects the trial to take two weeks.

WJBC News can be reached at [email protected]

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