Judge sentences Mark Wilson to death for murder of two Melrose boys
MELROSE, Fla. (WCJB) - A man from Melrose is headed to the Florida state prison in Raiford after being sentenced to death after he was found guilty of murdering two young boys.
On Friday, Judge McGillin upheld a jury’s death penalty recommendation for Mark Wilson after he was found guilty of killing Robert, 12, and Tayten Baker, 14, in August 2020. The boys were beaten and stabbed while they slept in their home in Melrose.
Wilson was found guilty of murder in 2022 and the jury unanimously recommended the death penalty.
“We know there will be appeals, but [Friday] is a win for those who fight for justice and I personally cannot wait to have this waste of existence vacate my jail and be delivered to death row at the Florida state prison in Raiford,” Sheriff Gator DeLoach said.
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The Baker brothers were found dead on Aug. 26, 2020, in their home on Shiloh Road surrounded by a pool of blood. Prosecutors say the children were beaten with a hammer and had their throats slit with a knife. DNA on the knife matched Mark Wilson who was dating the boy’s aunt and lived with her on the Baker’s property.
The day after the victims were found, Wilson told his mother he had planned the murder of the boys. He also admitted the crime to law enforcement.
“This will not bring back Robert and Tayten Baker, but it does close the door of uncertainty the family has lived through these last two and a half years,” DeLoach said. “Our hearts are broken for the family. There will never be enough to right the terrible wrong this monster did to these children and this family, but if anyone deserved the death penalty it is Mark Wilson. We want to thank the Seventh Judicial Circuit State Attorney’s Office, State Attorney RJ Larizza and the jurors for seeing this through to completion. I especially want to thank our detectives, deputies and victim advocates who put their heart and soul into this case to bring justice for these two boys.”
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