An autopsy on the exhumed body of a 31-year-old Hewitt teacher failed to determine the cause of death.

Hewitt police reopened the investigation into the death of Kari Lynn Baker in July and exhumed her body because no autopsy was ordered after Justice of the Peace Billy Martin declared her death a suicide in April.

In a report issued by the Dallas County Medical Examiner’s Office, pathologists said that the cause and manner of Baker’s death remain “undetermined.”

Hewitt police reopened the case at the request of Baker’s parents, James and Linda Dulin, who in July filed a wrongful death lawsuit against their son-in-law, Matt Baker, a Baptist minister and former Waco Center for Youth chaplain.

Hewitt police said in an affidavit to support their exhumation request that “suspicious circumstances before and after” Kari Baker’s death led to the renewed interest in the case.

The Dulins’ lawsuit alleges that Matt Baker killed their daughter “then falsely reported the death to police as a suicide.”

Matt Baker, who since has moved to Kerrville, has not returned phone messages left at his residence. His attorneys, Gerald Villarrial and James Rainey, both of Waco, say that Baker did not kill his wife and just wants to move on and take care of the couple’s 6-year-old and 10-year-old daughters.

“It is not shocking that they found traces of sleeping pills in her system, as police determined that it was suicide by overdose of sleeping pills,” Rainey said.

The autopsy report said pathologists found traces of three drugs in Kari Baker’s system — a diet pill, an antihistamine and a sleep aid.

“The combined effects of phentermine, diphenhydramine and zolpidem, in conjunction with the possible use of alcohol (as per history), may have contributed to the cause of death,” the report says. “However, accurate blood concentrations of these drugs cannot be determined due to embalming.”

The report also states that they found no significant natural disease, no evidence of trauma, a history of depression and reports that Baker was found unresponsive in bed with a bottle of Unisom and a “typewritten suicide-type note” nearby.

The Dulins’ attorney, Bill Johnston, would say only that the autopsy report “supports our theory.” He declined additional comment.

Linda Dulin said Friday that reports that her daughter was depressed were supplied to police by Matt Baker and are not true. She also did not drink regularly, Dulin said.

“In fact, Kari had just interviewed on Friday, the day before her death, for a new job in the Midway school district,” Linda Dulin said. “She was really excited about the future. She had a lot of plans and any of her friends and family can tell you about them.”

Rainey said that the Dulins, in their pain, are “lashing out irrationally” against Matt Baker.

“The autopsy confirms Matt Baker’s innocence,” Rainey said. “It finds alcohol and sleeping pills in her system. Clearly those items may have contributed to her death. It is also noted that Kari had a history of depression and specifically rules out any trauma as a cause of death.”

Hewitt police Capt. Tuck Saunders declined to say how the autopsy report might affect his department’s investigation.

“We got a copy of it and are following up on some final leads and when we complete that, we will be sending a case to the district attorney’s office for screening,” Saunders said.

McLennan County District Attorney John Segrest said that if his office receives a case involving Kari Baker’s death, he and his staff will evaluate it as it would any other case.

twitherspoon@wacotrib.com

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