INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — Deputies arrested a second man Friday in connection with the November triple homicide that claimed the lives of Amanda Baker, her pregnant granddaughter Shelby Baker and the unborn baby. Sheriff Eric Flowers said Toby Featherston, the brother of Shelby Baker’s ex-boyfriend, previously lived at the Baker residence and made threats to kill the family.
Toby Featherston
PHOTO CONTRIBUTED BY INDIAN RIVER COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE
Featherston had been recently released from prison following a three-year stint in the Florida Department of Corrections for aggravated battery with a deadly weapon. Deputies said Featherson and Aiden Christman went to the Baker household and fired off several rounds.
“(Amanda and Shelby) were shot multiple times,” Flowers said during a Friday news conference via Zoom. “Everyone was asleep. The surveillance video showed two men walking and entering through the back door of the residence.”
Amanda Baker was 68 and Shelby Baker was 19. Shelby Baker was eight months pregnant when she was killed, according to a sheriff’s report.
Featherston, 20, of the 2000 block of 14th Avenue, Vero Beach, was charged with two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of attempted murder, first-degree murder of an unborn child and burglary of a dwelling with assault and battery while armed.
Christman, 20, of the 600 block of 39th Court, Vero Beach, was arrested Monday on the same charges. Both men remained held Friday at the Indian River County Jail without bond.
Sheriff’s detectives combed through home surveillance footage that also captured audio of the rapid gunfire lasting more than 10 seconds. Detectives processed DNA left at the scene, collected evidence and used the Flock safety license plate reader system to track down the gunmen.
The suspects and victims all knew each other, according to sheriff’s officials. Both Christman and Featherston had attended Vero Beach High School together and remained friends since, reports show.
While Flowers said the motive was not 100 percent clear, he did provide more details surrounding what he described as a home invasion.
“Toby had a beef with Amanda. Toby and his brother were living at the home at one point,” Flowers said of Featherston, who was released from prison on Nov. 4, 2024, nearly a week before the murders that occurred in the Highlands community. “Toby and Amanda got into it. (Toby) had been trespassed (from the home) by Amanda.”
Featherston was initially arrested Monday on unrelated charges. The murder charges against Featherston were filed on Friday.
Flowers said Shelby Baker’s ex-boyfriend was not involved in the shooting. The ex-boyfriend moved out of the residence eight months prior to the home invasion and lives in Lake County, according to the sheriff’s officials.
Michael Conn, who was Shelby Baker’s current boyfriend and father of the unborn child, was stabbed in the head, neck, back and torso during the incident, reports show. Conn was also grazed by a bullet.
A judge sealed the case on Tuesday, then unsealed it Friday after the second arrest was made. Sheriff’s officials released footage of both men being detained.
‘A terrible tragedy’
Arrest reports, surveillance footage and 911 calls paint a horrific picture of the attack that took place in the Highlands community five months ago. Deputies said they hope the arrests of both suspects will help bring closure to the Baker family.
“It’s good we’re bringing justice to this case. Our condolences go out to the Baker family,” Flowers said. “This is a terrible tragedy. This triple homicide should’ve never occurred.”
Aiden Christman
PHOTO CONTRIBUTED BY INDIAN RIVER COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE
The shooting and stabbing happened about 3:44 a.m. Nov. 10, 2024 at the Baker home in the 600 block of 23rd Place Southwest. Amanda Baker lived at the residence with her husband Michael Baker, granddaughter Shelby Baker and Conn.
The sheriff’s office received a 911 call from Michael Baker, where he told dispatchers that at least two men wearing dark clothing had broken inside his residence and shot the people inside, reports show. Michael Baker said he was half-awake on the couch when the intruders opened the door and rushed inside the home.
“The (suspects) said nothing and immediately began shooting,” Michael Baker told deputies. Michael Baker, who has health issues and uses an oxygen tank, rolled off the couch and hid between the couch and coffee table, reports show.
Michael Baker said “it was clear the (suspects) entered the residence with the sole purpose of killing everyone inside,” reports show.
Featherston and Christman first went to Amanda Baker’s room on the northwest side of the home and shot her four times, according to sheriff’s officials. Amanda Baker was also stabbed, reports show.
At least one of the men then went to the southwest bedroom, where Shelby Baker and Conn were lying down. The gunman shot Shelby Baker five times, reports show.
Conn fought the man, who repeatedly stabbed him.
Conn then grabbed the man by his arms, forced him backwards out of the room and barricaded the door closed, reports show. Conn waited until he thought the man was gone before he ran from the home and told a neighbor. The neighbor then called 911.
The neighbor told dispatchers that Conn was stabbed multiple times and “had blood all over him,” reports show. Deputies went in the home and found the bodies of Amanda and Shelby Baker.
Amanda Baker was taken to HCA Vero Beach Emergency Room while Shelby Baker and Conn were taken to HCA Florida Lawnwood Hospital in Fort Pierce.
Doctors pronounced the women dead, reports show. Conn has since recovered from his injuries, Flowers said.
Evidence left behind
Detectives found several spent cartridge casings in the residence. The detectives also located a black 9mm pistol, which was stolen out of Orlando, and the knife used in the attack discarded near a canal not far from the home.
The Smith and Wesson firearm matched all of the spent cartridge casings and projectiles recovered from the Baker residence, according to deputies.
Deputies reviewed nearby home surveillance footage that showed two people walking to the rear carport area of the home moments before the shooting, reports show. Minutes later, both suspects were seen running from the residence in a southern direction on 6th Way Southwest.
The footage also showed Conn climbing out the front window and running to the neighbor’s house across the street for help.
Detectives swabbed DNA left on the back glass door, rear screen door, the inside area of a white hat left at the scene along with two slide shoes. The detectives also swabbed the handgun found near the canal.
All of the swabs matched the DNA profile of Christman, reports show.
Detectives also conducted a Flock search of a silver sedan they said was in the area of the home before and after the shooting. The sheriff’s Real Time Crime Center discovered the vehicle was a 2014 Toyota Scion, owned by Christman’s father, reports show.
On Dec. 5, Christman told a citizen informant that he and Featherston fatally shot Amanda and Shelby Baker, according to deputies.
Previous calls to the Baker home
Prior to the deadly home invasion, deputies had responded to a variety of calls to the Baker residence. One call came from Amanda Baker on Dec. 18, 2021, where she told deputies that Featherston brought a gun into the home.
Amanda Baker told Featherston she did not want the gun in her home and hid the firearm, reports show. Featherston threatened to kill Amanda and Michael Baker if she did not return the gun or give him $600.
Amanda Baker told deputies Featherston had “serious anger issues” and that she was in fear for her life, reports show. Deputies at the time arrested Featherston on a charge of possession of a firearm by a minor and seized the .40-caliber pistol.
Christman has an arraignment at 8:45 a.m. April 21, court records show. Details on Featherston’s arraignment were not immediately available.
