JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A jury decided Mark Wilson will receive the death penalty for the murder of two Putnam County boys on Friday. The decision came after a five day long sentencing trial.
Wilson was found guilty of first-degree murder earlier this month. According to Florida law, Wilson can only be sentenced to death if the jury chooses it unanimously, which they did.
Wilson was living with the aunt of 14-year-old Tatyen and 12-year-old Robert Baker on the family's property with his own daughter when he murdered the boys in August 2020.
The Putnam County Sheriff said the crime scene inside the Bakers' home was one of the worst he'd ever seen. Wilson was convicted of beating Tatyen and Robert in the head with a hammer then slitting their throats.
The boys' mother, Sarah Baker, testified that the night before the boys were killed, she saw Wilson outside sharpening a knife; that knife would later be matched to the murder weapon.
Wilson's mother also testified in the trial. In a recorded conversation played in the courtroom, Wilson's mother begged her son to answer why he killed the boys. In the recorded confession, Wilson tells her he killed them because he felt their family was going to report him and his girlfriend to the Department of Children and Families.
Family described being in the courtroom, just feet away from Wilson, as "unbearable" at times. They wanted the death penalty.