Original Story
Two young boys are dead and police say it happened inside their own home on Tuesday, where they were brutally beaten and stabbed.
According to Putnam County Sheriff Gator DeLoach, Robert Baker, 12, and Tayten Baker, 14, were both found murdered inside a common area of the family’s Melrose home, off of Shiloh Road. Investigators found a hammer and a knife inside the residence but no motive is yet known.
The children’s mother, who said she was asleep with a younger child when the incident happened, woke up to find her boys unresponsive. She called 911 immediately but the attack left both victims dead.
The children’s father, a truck driver, was not at home at the time. Both parents are fully cooperating with police, WOKV reports.
On late Thursday, authorities arrested 30-year-old Mark Wilson, Jr., a man well-known to the family, according to First Coast News.
JUST IN | Here's a look at Mark Wilson, Jr.'s mugshot. @ActionNewsJax @WOKVNews pic.twitter.com/12H88SgOyH
— Beth Rousseau (@BethANJax) August 28, 2020
During a Friday morning news conference, Putnam County Sheriff Gator Deloach confirmed that the suspect allegedly used the hammer and knife to carry out the attack.
Deloach took to Facebook to express his disdain for the suspected murderer.
“Mark Wilson, the sick monster responsible for Tayten and Robert’s brutal murder was arrested last night. Very quickly detectives honed in on Wilson and immediately established this individual was only a threat to those around him.
Unfortunately, Robert and Tayten were the ones who suffered whatever was going through Wilson’s twisted agenda. As a parent, the murders of Robert and Tayten are an unimaginable loss to a family. I can’t begin to understand the anguish their parents are suffering.”
Mark Wilson, the sick monster responsible for Tayten and Robert’s brutal murder was arrested last night. Very quickly…
Posted by Gator DeLoach on Friday, August 28, 2020
State Attorney RJ Larizza said the case is worthy of the death penalty, adding that the suspect attacked the boys “without mercy.”
Wilson has an extensive criminal history, including property crimes and drugs, but no known charges for violent crimes until now. He’s been charged with two counts of murder and remains behind bars without bail.
Check back for updates.
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[Feature Photo: Robert and Tayten Baker/Handout]
