Matthew Terry is a killer from Florida who was convicted of the murder of Kay Baker
According to court documents Matthew Terry was sentenced to spend three years in a Michigan State Prison for the brutal attack of his former girlfriend Michelle Rogers who he stabbed multiple times
Once out of prison Matthew Terry would move to Florida and began a relationship with Kay Baker which would end with Terry stabbing to death Kay Baker just five months after he was released from prison
Matthew Terry would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to life in prison without parole
Matthew Terry Now
| DC Number: | A01760 |
|---|---|
| Name: | TERRY, MATTHEW R |
| Race: | WHITE |
| Sex: | MALE |
| Birth Date: | 01/08/1975 |
| Initial Receipt Date: | 12/14/2022 |
| Current Facility: | HARDEE C.I. |
| Current Custody: | CLOSE |
| Current Release Date: | SENTENCED TO LIFE |
Matthew Terry Videos
Matthew Terry Case
A Hillsborough County, Florida jury on Tuesday quickly and unanimously convicted Matthew Terry, 47, of murdering 43-year-old third grade math and science teacher Kay Baker as she tried to escape him earlier in 2022.
The jury in the capital case only needed one hour and 10 minutes to find Terry guilty of first-degree murder in the stabbing death of his then-girlfriend
Authorities said Baker and Terry were together at the Landing Bar & Grill on May 27, 2022, the night of the murder. Terry had become upset that Baker danced with another man at the bar.
“I saw you dancing with that guy,” the defendant said, according to a witness.
Early the next morning, a neighbor claimed to hear screaming and found Baker dead on the lawn outside, according to a redacted affidavit. She had tried to escape Terry through a window. Authorities said Baker’s throat was cut and that a lone kitchen knife was missing from a butcher block holder.
Investigators followed a trail of blood to Terry in overgrown brush and trees. He was “found only wearing a t-shirt and underwear soaked in apparent blood.”
He had lacerations on his fingers and hands, as well as superficial cuts to his arm, authorities said.
“The defendant also had two apparent stab wounds along each side of his neck, which appeared to be symmetrical and clean punctures,” authorities said. “The defendant declined to make any statements without legal representation.”
Earlier on Tuesday, Terry’s ex-girlfriend Michelle Rogers took the witness stand and told jurors that Terry also stabbed her in the neck with a knife back on St. Patrick’s Day in 2017.
Rogers said that she left Terry at a bar after he got too intoxicated. When he returned home angry hours later, he knocked her to the floor, punched her in the face, chest, and back, and used wrestling moves to try and keep her on the ground.
“I love you why are you doing this?” Rogers said she yelled.
“No you don’t, fuck you, I’m going to kill you,” Terry answered.
Though his defense attempted to claim that Rogers was somehow motivated by money, Terry in fact served three years in a Michigan prison for attacking his ex.
Now that he’s been convicted of murdering Baker, Terry faces potential punishment as severe as the death penalty.
The penalty phase is set to begin at 9 a.m. on Wednesday.
Terry ultimately declined to testify in his own defense at trial, citing his attorney’s advice. Nonetheless, he insisted that he had the “desire” to testify.
Matthew Terry News
Matthew Terry will spend the rest of his life in prison after he was found guilty of first-degree murder for the death of a 43-year-old Hillsborough County teacher.
A Hillsborough County jury convicted Terry of the murder of Kay Baker, 43, who was found dead outside of a neighbor’s home in Lithia on Tuesday. Documents said Baker had multiple stab wounds to her neck and shoulder.
The Hillsborough County State Attorney’s Office said Baker was an elementary school teacher in the area and was dating Terry at the time of her death.
The case made news earlier this year when then-State Attorney Andrew Warren chose not to seek the death penalty in the case. That decision was reversed after Warren was suspended by Governor Ron DeSantis.
According to the State Attorney’s Office, Terry was convicted of stabbing a previous girlfriend in Michigan. They added that he was eventually released from custody and moved to Florida five months before Baker’s death.
The trial jury will now move to the sentencing phase, which will recommend a sentence of life in prison or death.