One witness told police that she saw the man accused of murdering a Makiki woman in the driveway of her home next to where her car was parked, and a homeless man said the accused killer gave him the victim’s laptop to sell.
Details in the death of Mary Beth San Juan have emerged as the suspect in the case appeared in court Tuesday and a police affidavit was released outlining tips that led to the arrest of Vernon Baker, 41.
In a crime that stunned neighbors in a quiet Makiki neighborhood, San Juan’s body was found bound, gagged, wrapped in carpet and left in her Punahou Street driveway July 23.
In addition to the two witnesses who connected Baker to the case, San Juan’s ex-husband told homicide detectives the weekend before she was killed that the couple drove the suspect home and that he appeared to be "agitated during the car ride," according to the police affidavit.
Alberto and Mary Beth San Juan were having dinner July 13 when the suspect called the victim, the police statement said. Alberto San Juan Jr. told police that after the cellphone call his ex-wife asked for a ride to pick up the suspect and take him home.
The man they drove home early July 14 was "John Vernon Baker" or Vernon Lux Baker, Alberto San Juan told police.
Mary Beth San Juan’s body was found by her ex-husband on the night of July 23, bound, gagged and wrapped in a red carpet left in the driveway of her home at 1224 Punahou St., adjacent to Honolulu’s Shriners Hospital for Children. San Juan’s 2013 Mercedes-Benz C250 four-door sedan was missing when her body was found. Authorities have not said when they believe San Juan was killed.
The medical examiner said San Juan died of multiple stab wounds, and classified the death as a homicide.
Police believe robbery is the motive in the case.
First Hawaiian Bank surveillance video taken at about 12:30 a.m. July 22 at the Manoa Marketplace branch shows a man withdrawing money using San Juan’s ATM card.
The police statement said Baker’s arrest came after several tips from the public. Police said the suspect was found Saturday by police conducting surveillance in Waikiki, where Baker had been living at a hostel.
Baker was charged Monday with second-degree murder in San Juan’s death. He also faces two counts of promoting dangerous drugs, and drug paraphernalia. On Tuesday he entered a plea of not guilty in District Court.
His preliminary hearing will be held Thursday afternoon in District Court. He is being held, unable to post a $200,000 bond.
Baker was arrested shortly after 2:30 p.m. Saturday at Ala Moana Center.
Police said a driver’s license is issued to Vernon John Baker, age 41. The Hawaii driver’s license photograph is similar to the Facebook photograph of Vernon Lux Baker.
After police issued a CrimeStoppers bulletin seeking information on the killing, a witness said that at about 1:30 p.m. July 23 she saw a man behind a silver Mercedes-Benz that was parked in the driveway of San Juan’s Punahou Street home with its trunk lid open. The witness later identified the man behind the Mercedes as Baker.
San Juan’s 2013 Mercedes-Benz was found July 24 in Kapiolani Park, and her wallet was later found in a trash bin on Lemon Road in Waikiki.
The manager of Hokondo Waikiki Beachside Hostel, where San Juan’s wallet was recovered Thursday, said Baker was a guest at the hostel that same day.
On Saturday a woman called police saying she had received a computer belonging to San Juan from a homeless man.
Police later determined that the homeless man had met with Baker earlier that day at a pavilion on the beach at Kalakaua and Liliuokalani avenues. The homeless man acknowledged that he had received a bag with the laptop from Baker, who had asked him to sell it.
The police statement said officers then placed Baker under surveillance, following him as he caught a bus to Ala Moana Center. He was arrested after leaving the bathroom at the center’s Makai Marketplace.
Baker lived for 11 months at the Honolulu Diamond Sangha, a Palolo Zen Buddhist center, where he was paid a small stipend for performing maintenance. He was asked to leave July 2 when his health failed him and he was unable to perform his maintenance duties.
Michael Kieran, a teacher at the Palolo center, said Baker first came to the center in 2002. Kieran said Baker also lived on the Big Island and the mainland, and returned to Honolulu in 2011. Palolo center officials said Baker is from California.
