North Port man confesses to killing wife while 3 children were in the home

A man was arrested Wednesday in North Port after calling 911 to say he shot his wife in the head with a .45 caliber pistol, killing her.

North Port officers arrived at a home on Chesapeake Avenue shortly after 9 p.m. and found Shawn Edward Baker, 47, on his knees in the front yard with his hands raised in the air.

Baker had told the 911 dispatcher that officers would find him there in that position.

The victim, Kimberly Baker, was found in the home’s master bedroom, slumped on her right side on the bed with an apparent gunshot wound to the head. A handgun was lying next to her. She was declared dead at 9:40 p.m.

Kimberly was an aesthetician for Paradise Dermatology, and they confirmed her death.

Three of the victim’s children were in the home when their mother was shot and killed. They were unharmed and did not see him shoot her.

Neighbor J.W. Boyette said, “[I] just got home just prior to it and never heard a thing. And obviously, our Police Department came up with lights and no sirens because we never heard it.”

I think it’s helpful in a situation where we have calm in the neighborhood,” added Josh Taylor, Public Information Officer for the North Port Police Dept. “Calm in the community when we are looking for somebody.”

Now, a family is broken, and kids are without their mother.

“It’s comforting to know that he wasn’t trying to take out his children,” Boyette explained. “Hopefully, they have a good family unit to fall back on.”

Kimberly Baker’s children are with relatives, and Shawn Baker is in the Sarasota County jail, facing a homicide charge.

A homicide investigation is now underway.