Krystal Jean Baker: How new DNA technology solved a cold case
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Krystal Jean Baker was 13 years old when she was brutally raped and murdered by a man who wouldn’t be discovered for another 25 years. Her death is incredibly tragic, but the case itself represented a turning point for DNA testing.
This article takes a look at the events surrounding Krystal Jean Baker’s murder to understand what happened and how her case changed the way that DNA evidence is used in criminal investigations in America.
Who was Krystal Jean Baker?
Not much is known about Krystal Jean Baker’s life before her tragic death, other than that she was a regular 13-almost-14-year-old, born in 1982, who lived in Texas City, Texas.
Krystal was related to the infamous Hollywood star Norma Jean Baker, known by her stage name Marilyn Monroe. Monroe was Krystal’s great aunt, and Krystal’s mother –Jeanie Baker – noted in the past that she was related to the starlet through her father’s side of the family.
It wasn’t hard to believe that the two were related, as Krystal does bear a slight resemblance to Monroe, which was sometimes mentioned when Krystal was discussed in the media.
Jeanie described her daughter as having a 'heart of gold', but that she was also a typical teenager with a rebellious streak. Unfortunately, this rebellious nature led to her leaving her grandmother’s home in 1996 and shw was never seen alive again.
Krystal Jean Baker’s murder
On 5th March 1996, Krystal was at her grandmother’s house. The two argued, and Krystal stormed out of the house. She walked to a convenience store close by and called her mother. Her mother instructed her to go back to her grandma’s house and remain there. Krystal called a friend to see if she could get a ride and left the store, but she never made it back to her grandmother’s home.
Krystal’s last known location was close to the Interstate 45 Highway in Texas City. However, two weeks later, her mother received a call saying her body had been found two hours away, close to the Louisiana border.
Krystal had been raped, beaten, and strangled to death before being dumped under a bridge over the Trinity River in Chambers County. Krystal had been found only two hours after she had gone missing, but as she was in another county, she had been listed as a Jane Doe on police records.
Those two weeks made a huge difference when it came to catching Krystal’s killer. Witness accounts were lost and evidence could not be tracked. The case of Krystal’s murder went cold for 25 years.
A break in Krystal’s case
It wasn’t until 2010 that Krystal’s killer was finally found via new DNA technology. An officer from Chamber’s County decided to take Krystal’s dress - which had been locked away as evidence - and have it resubmitted to be analysed.
The new technology was able to detect a match in DNA via a semen stain on her dress. The sample matched with a man who’d had a minor drug arrest in Louisiana. That man was 45-year-old Kevin Edison Smith.
The conviction of Kevin Edison Smith
In 2012, Smith was convicted of the murder of Krystal Jean Baker. He was immediately given a life sentence, but the death penalty was not sought.
This is because of a range of other unsolved murders of girls and young women in the same area where Krystal was killed. Prosecutors thought Smith might have been involved, so they wanted to question him.
The Krystal Jean Baker Act
A new law named after Krystal was put into place in the United States in September 2019.
The Krystal Jean Baker Act allows DNA samples from those who have been charged with certain types of felonies to be used in the Combined DNA Index System. This system - also called the CODIS database - can compare previously obtained DNA samples. By allowing for this, unsolved, cold cases could be reopened and even solved thanks to the improvement in DNA technology.
The murder of Krystal Jean Baker was a heinous crime that cruelly took the life of a girl who had only just entered her teen years. She will be remembered forever by her friends and family, but she will also be known for the act created in her name that could potentially lead to cold cases like hers being solved in the future.
