Matt Baker Trial: Ex Mistress Vanessa Bulls Says Preacher Killed Wife

By: Erin Moriarty
Topics: Daily Blotter

(CBS)

WACO, Texas (CBS) Young, blonde, and beautiful, Vanessa Bulls, the 27-year-old former mistress of a minister on trial for killing his wife had one simple message for the jury: He did it.

Photo: Vanessa Bulls testifies in Waco, Texas court Jan. 19, 2010.

Bulls is the star witness at the murder trial of her former lover, Matt Baker, the Texas preacher who prosecutors say drugged his wife, handcuffed her to the bed under the guise of spicing up their marriage, then smothered her with a pillow until she died in 2006.

Baker has always claimed his wife, Kari Baker, committed suicide because she was despondent over the death of a daughter seven years earlier. In court, however, Vanessa Bulls testified that Matt Baker planned his wife's murder and ruthlessly followed through.

Photo: Matt and Kari Baker.

Bulls began her testimony describing how she first met Matt Baker, who was applying for a job as preacher at the church she attended, in the fall of 2005. Bulls, who had a toddler and was getting a divorce at the time, said Baker seduced her under the guise of counseling her.

She said that in March of the following year, she began a sexual affair with Baker and soon after, he began planning his wife's murder. Baker considered tampering with the brakes on his wife's car or orchestrating a drive-by shooting, Ms. Bulls said, but eventually decided to kill his wife in a manner that would appear to be a suicide.

As Kari's family cried quietly in the courtroom, Bulls gave details she said Baker relayed to her one week after Kari's death. He told her, she says, that he bought chloroform online and attempted to purchase a powerful sleep medication known as Ambien. On the night of her death, Baker convinced his wife to take a pill that he said would enhance her sexual experience, but was, in fact, Bulls said, a capsule filled with a sleeping medication.

Baker told her that he handcuffed his wife to the bed until she fell asleep and then put a pillow over her face to suffocate her. Bulls told the court that after Baker thought his wife was dead, she moved and gasped for breath. Baker panicked, said Bulls, and again put the pillow over his wife's face until he was sure she was dead.

Vanessa Bulls knew Baker planned to kill his wife, she said, but never told anyone. She also said she lied to investigators for months, denying that she had an affair with Baker or that she knew anything about Kari Baker's death. She said she was afraid of Baker, especially after he emailed her lyrics to a song called "Dirty Little Secret." Bulls read to the jury the lyrics of the song's chorus: "I'll keep you, my dirty little secret. Don't tell anyone or you will just be another regret."

Under cross examination, Bulls admitted she had made various and contradicting statements to authorities.

Later in the afternoon, the prosecution rested. The defense case will begin Wednesday morning.

MORE ON CRIMESIDER
January 20, 2010 - Matt Baker Trial: Ex Mistress Vanessa Bulls Says Preacher Killed Wife
January 19, 2010 - Erin Moriarty: Matt Baker Lied to Me, But Did the Texas Preacher Kill His Wife?

MORE ON 48 HOURS | MYSTERY
Click here to learn more about the case.

Erin Moriarty is an attorney and an award-winning correspondent for CBS News. She covered the Oklahoma City bombing, the Columbine High School shootings and the 9/11 investigation overseas. Moriarty has won nine national Emmy Awards and a 2001 Press Club Award, among others. She is currently covering the Matt Baker murder trial in Waco, Texas for 48 Hours | Mystery, where she has been a correspondent since 1990.

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by texascher February 14, 2010 2:39 PM EST: Why is this nasty piece of work getting away with murder? What happened? After the excitement of him killing his wife wore off, she got bored & left him? now, for excitement, she testifies against him? What next? I hope whoever hired this skank to teach children, has @ least appologized for his crummy judgement. Also, please tell me that part of her ammunity deal was a stipulation that she could NOT profit from this crime. Nobody is interested in reading some lieing account or her love & ignorance of this man. An even worse read would be the lurid, trashy details-in other words, the truth. She would probably title her book' how I got away with MURDER!'; Reply to this comment


by extremophil January 21, 2010 8:16 AM EST: How noble of her to come forward and testify.......five years after the fact.; Reply to this comment

by MalloryDavis January 21, 2010 4:44 AM EST

A Suicide?! Preachers make the worst killers. Do any remember REV Walker Railey-he was the Pastor at a Presbyterian church in Dallas, TX? He did get by with it, as far as I know. These preachers turned killers are just the most horrible of humans.

Beware of men in sheep's clothing. Christians are only people who labled themselves as such then show their utter lack of love and civility. They are CLANGING SYMBOLS for the most part..

Matty needs some real harsh time with killers who manipulated to kill. Usually, I am forgiving of people who find themselves in situations and get caught up in the moment, but MattBaker is a slime. He tricked his wife with the thought of super sex...probably because they hadn't had any sex time for a while because he was 'in prayer.' He even looks like an A$$hole.

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by bracemic January 21, 2010 9:24 AM EST: Actually, a preacher claiming to care about Christianity and really being a dark, sadistic murderer, is a wolf in sheep's clothing. True, it might satisy some to use religion to feel better about themselves and their darkness with no intention of allowing God into their hearts. Still, there are also sincere Christians who surrender thier hearts to Jesus in order to purge darkness and evil thoughts from themselves. These are the people who you will never hear about or hear much from. They might talk about Jesus, but thier actions always speak louder than their words. They walk with humility and they know that they truly do answer to God for what they do.

by Sky017 January 21, 2010 4:43 AM EST

And people were quick to crucify Tiger. What do you make of this guy?

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by ffoulkes-2009 January 21, 2010 4:57 AM EST: About the same I thought of Tiger...Nothing to see here, move along.


by MalloryDavis January 21, 2010 3:15 AM EST: This is a mighty fine statement. Well done!; Reply to this comment

by Potverdorie January 21, 2010 2:09 AM EST

This "beautiful" woman should be punished (although I am very sorry for her child). First she starts an affair with a married man which is bad enough in my eyes, but then she keeps silent about his plans to murder his wife. Since she met this pastor in her church, she is supposedly a Christian, so not only "men of God" can be devils, also so called Christians..... even if they are beautiful (I personally do not think she looks so attractive in the picture).

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by ffoulkes-2009 January 21, 2010 3:20 AM EST: Anyone can have flaws. Christians are, after all, human.


by BetsyNoodle January 21, 2010 12:00 AM EST: Jury just announced that Matt Baker is GUILTY of murdering his wife, Kari. Sentencing phase will begin tomorrow. This story, unfortunately, has been big news here in Texas. The malignant narcissist that he is, he gave multiple interviews to various news programs and Texas Monthly magazine. I guess he thought a "man of God" can play by different rules and get away with murder. He was wrong.
Sending my condolences to Kari's daughters and family. My thoughts and prayers are with them.; Reply to this comment


by commenter777 January 20, 2010 9:55 PM EST: If I was a deviant or a pervert the 1st occupation I would choose is something where I could get close to my victims. I would want to become a "Man of God" in people's eyes that believe BS. Then I could use them for my deviant perverted desires if they saw me as a "Man of God". Does that confuse anybody? If I was a pervert I'd want to be either a catholic priest or a pastor. Then I would have very close access to them and their children in a very close, seemingly sincere, seemingly lovely, perverted way. Watch out for people that want you to trust them as your "man of god" that is between you and god. There is no one closer to god than you.; Reply to this comment


by commenter777 January 20, 2010 9:45 PM EST: Do you believe that someone is closer to god than you just because they act like or tell you that they are closer to god than you? How many people listened to and elevated this wife killer to the status of being the person they believed was a "man of god"? How many good religious people did he counsel them, counsel their children, and always be treated like he's god's right hand man. It's silly. Let's not ever forget that a large percentage of catholic priests(men of god) have raped our little children. How soon we forgive and forget! Are we a bunch of DAs?; Reply to this comment