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Double jeopardy case: Wendell Baker guilty of rape | Double jeopardy case: Wendell Baker guilty of rape |
(35 minutes later) | |
A man has been found guilty of raping a pensioner in her bedroom, under the amended double jeopardy law. | A man has been found guilty of raping a pensioner in her bedroom, under the amended double jeopardy law. |
Wendell Baker, 56, of Walthamstow, east London, had denied raping Hazel Backwell, then 66, at her home in Stratford, east London, in 1997. | Wendell Baker, 56, of Walthamstow, east London, had denied raping Hazel Backwell, then 66, at her home in Stratford, east London, in 1997. |
In 1999 a judge decided the case could not proceed for legal reasons and Baker was found not guilty. | In 1999 a judge decided the case could not proceed for legal reasons and Baker was found not guilty. |
A legal change in 2005 allowed retrials in certain circumstances and a new hearing took place at the Old Bailey. | A legal change in 2005 allowed retrials in certain circumstances and a new hearing took place at the Old Bailey. |
Baker will be sentenced on Friday. The judge said he would consider a life sentence. | Baker will be sentenced on Friday. The judge said he would consider a life sentence. |
The jury found Baker guilty after deliberating for just over an hour. | The jury found Baker guilty after deliberating for just over an hour. |
Baker was acquitted of raping Ms Backwell, who died in 2002, when the first trial judge ruled DNA evidence had not been collected correctly and could not be used. | Baker was acquitted of raping Ms Backwell, who died in 2002, when the first trial judge ruled DNA evidence had not been collected correctly and could not be used. |
'Finish it' | |
Jurors were told Ms Backwell suffered a "terrifying ordeal" and thought she was going to die. | |
Baker broke into her home as she slept, tied her hands behind her back with flex and then beat and raped her. | |
Afterwards, he ransacked her house before leaving her trapped in a cupboard. | |
A statement was read out from Ms Backwell in the court. | |
In it she wrote: "I just thought, 'finish it, end it, get out'. | |
"I asked him to help me up but he told me to get up myself. I thought I was going to die." | |
Baker denied raping Ms Backwell, telling the court he had been framed by police who he claimed had hounded him for years. | |
After hearing he had been found guilty, Baker called out from the dock: "I deny the charge and I'll never accept what you have to say." |