Susan Lynette BakerDUNLAP, Tenn. – A Sequatchie County woman will serve at least 51 years in prison after being convicted of felony first-degree murder late Thursday.
Jurors deliberated for more than two hours before convicting 38-year-old Susan L. Baker in the Feb. 2, 2011, slaying of Bledsoe County resident Clifford Carden Jr.
Baker had been charged with felony murder, especially aggravated robbery and setting fire to personal property, along with co-defendant Bryan Bettis, whose case was previously severed from Baker’s.
The jury of four men and eight women found Baker guilty on all three counts. The murder conviction carries a life sentence. That means she must serve 51 years in prison before becoming eligible for parole. Now 38, she would be 89 years old.
As the jury left the courtroom, Baker stood gripping the edge of the defense table and was taken from the courtroom in tears.