PUTNAM COUNTY, Fla. – After a long week of sentencing hearing testimony, a Putnam County jury unanimously recommended the death penalty Friday for Mark Wilson Jr., who was convicted of the brutal murder of two young brothers in 2020.
Wilson was found guilty earlier this month on two counts of first-degree murder for killing 12-year-old Robert Baker and 14-year-old Tayten Baker. He was dating their aunt when the boys were stabbed and bludgeoned in their home in Melrose.
The defense rested Thursday after multiple days of testimony from experts, and then prosecutors made their case that aggravating factors existed in the case to warrant the death penalty.
The jurors agreed and unanimously found aggravating factors in the case and recommended the death penalty.
The 12-0 verdict was read by the clerk after less than an hour of deliberation.
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Although the jury made the recommendation, the final decision will be up to Judge Howard McGillin, who will make the decision after a Spencer hearing in December. A Spencer hearing gives a defendant an opportunity to provide additional evidence to change the penalties imposed by sentencing. In this case, it essentially gives the defense a chance to ask the judge to set aside the death penalty in favor of life in prison.
“Welcome to the 7th Circuit where making justice a reality is our sworn and solemn duty,” State Attorney R.J. Larizza said of this case. “Our heart goes out to the victims’ family. It’s in the judge’s hands now.”
The family members of the boys have made their feelings clear: They want Wilson to be executed.
“We don’t want to work and pay taxes for him to live. Point blank. Period,” cousin Kelli Coco said.
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During the week, defense attorneys put a diagnostic radiologist and a psychologist on the stand, who described abnormalities found in Wilson’s brain scans.
The state’s first witness was a psychologist who examined Wilson in jail after he was convicted of the murders. She diagnosed him with substance abuse disorders and antisocial personality disorder. She said, in her opinion, Wilson was not suffering from a major depressive disorder.
Wilson’s stepsister from Arizona also testified on his behalf, describing a childhood filled with heavy drug use and domestic abuse by her mother and Wilson’s father. The first psychologist to testify was Dr. Harry Krop, a veteran of dozens of criminal cases. He administered a battery of psychological and memory tests to Wilson.
Krop told the jury Wilson’s results showed moderate to severe impairment, and in several tests, he scored in the lowest percentile. Krop said an intelligence test gave Wilson an IQ of 75.