"When They Saw the Red Flags, It Was Too Late" | The Case of Kay Baker & Michelle Rogers
On March 17th, 2017, a woman in Michigan calls 911 after hearing strange noises from across the street. Stepping outside, she hears her neighbor's scream so loudly that the operator can hear it too. Five years later, on May 28th, 2022, two frantic calls come in to 911 in Florida about strange happenings across the street. When the cops arrive, they uncover a connection that finally leads to the capture of a violent attacker who had evaded the law for years.
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00:00911, what's the location of your emergency?
00:02There's a man and a woman pinned on the ground in their driveway.
00:06They're fighting.
00:07She's screaming, why are you doing this to me?
00:10She's screaming for help.
00:12The woman screaming in the background is 35-year-old Michelle Rogers.
00:16Moments earlier, her longtime boyfriend, Matthew Terry, an ex-Marine and wrestling coach,
00:21attacked her with a knife outside their home.
00:24He was literally on top of her with her legs over her head.
00:27Her legs over her head?
00:28Yeah.
00:30He's slamming her head on the ground.
00:32What is he saying?
00:33He's not saying a word.
00:35Oh my God.
00:36He went inside and she's all bloody.
00:39Following the brutal attack, Matthew was arrested, but a few days later,
00:43his rich parents bailed him out of prison for a quarter million dollars.
00:47I was disappointed for Michelle.
00:49She deserved better than this.
00:52When the trial came, Matthew hired the best lawyer in all of Michigan
00:56and pleaded self-defense on all charges.
00:58Unsurprisingly, he got away with only a slap on the wrist.
01:02It's hard to escape a sense of arrogance, entitlement,
01:06his narcissistic overall attitude during the trial.
01:11Two months later, Florida elementary school teacher Kay Baker began dating Matthew.
01:16Shortly after, she started receiving strange messages and graphic pictures on Facebook
01:21warning her that Matthew wasn't who he claimed to be.
01:24It sent chills down your spine.
01:26It was extremely just harrowing.
01:29In a strange turn of events, the person behind these messages
01:32proved to be none other than Michelle,
01:34who miraculously survived Matthew's brutal attempt on her life in 2017.
01:39Since then, she learned that she wasn't his first victim
01:42and that she was the only one able to prevent the next attack,
01:45save Kay Baker's life, and finally put Matthew Terry behind bars.
01:50I don't care if I'm in danger. I don't care.
01:52He is going to go where he belongs.
01:54This f***er is getting put away this time.
01:59May 27, 2022.
02:01Matthew Terry just moved to Florida to live with his new girlfriend, Kay Baker.
02:06The two were having a night out at the Landing Bar and Grill in Valrico
02:09with a couple of friends.
02:11Late in the evening, Kay, in the red shirt, stood up to go to the bathroom.
02:15As she came out a minute later, she crossed paths with Kelly Andrews,
02:19one of her friends from the table.
02:20They had gone to some bar and apparently there was some guy dancing,
02:25like in passing, just kind of like danced real quick next to her and walked away.
02:29And it wasn't anything. It was just, you know, if you're at the bar,
02:31everybody's having fun, like it's not a big deal.
02:34Back at their table, Matthew was accusing Kay of something.
02:37Her friends were confused by his reaction
02:39because all she did was jokingly dance for a few seconds.
02:42After the two left, the camera captured Kelly answering her phone.
02:46Apparently Kay and one of her friends had been talking on the phone
02:50and Matt was still very angry in the car
02:52and they were kind of making fun of him and telling him it wasn't a big deal.
02:56Afterward, Kay called Kelly again, but she didn't have a joking tone this time.
03:00She asked her friend to reassure Matthew that nothing happened at the bar.
03:04I was on speaker because he could hear me.
03:06I was telling him to stop. You were being, you're just being jealous.
03:09You need to just drop it.
03:11When they got home, there was a text that was sent from Kay's phone
03:15and it wasn't her that sent the text, but it was,
03:18hey, everything's fine, Matt's okay now, we're good, good night.
03:21Shortly thereafter, we find out that, you know, there was a pretty gruesome scene.
03:38Michelle met Kay Baker five years ago,
03:40during Matthew's trial following her attack.
03:43The defendant called multiple character witnesses
03:45and one of the witnesses that testified was Kay Baker.
03:49Kay was there because they had been friends for a really long time
03:53because everybody thought he was this great guy.
03:56And I was the crazy one.
03:58Even though she was on her own,
04:00Michelle faced Matthew in court on four fronts at once.
04:03A criminal trial, a CPS lawsuit, a custody battle and a restraining order.
04:09But the worst part was to discover that
04:11while he was still serving the short sentence he got for attempting to murder her,
04:15Matthew had already lured another woman into his grasp.
04:19Kay and Matt were communicating on jail calls.
04:21And once I found that out, I, I searched her on Facebook
04:26and I sent a picture of myself in the hospital.
04:30And I said, you know, he's not, he's not who he says he is.
04:34He's, he's lying. He's going to manipulate you.
04:37Please, please, like, don't let this be you.
04:39You have to get out of this.
04:41She pretended not to know what I was talking about
04:43and to say she wasn't talking to him.
04:45And at that point I knew there was no way to get through to her.
04:48But trust me, I was scared to death for this girl and her children.
04:51Something bad is going to happen.
04:53And it couldn't get much worse than what happened on May 28th, 2022.
04:58Less than 10 minutes after Kay called Kelly to reassure Matthew,
05:02Kay's panicked neighbor called 911.
05:05Do you know what happened?
05:06I don't know. My husband heard someone screaming and then we came outside.
05:10They're, they're struggling. Get in the house.
05:12Don't come out that door.
05:14They're, they're, they're struggling. I'm sorry.
05:16I'm so gonna try to get out of the house.
05:19When the police arrived, Kay was in critical condition.
05:22The elementary school teacher had cuts and bruises all over
05:25and was bleeding from the neck.
05:27A trail of blood started from her location
05:29and ran through the street to a wooded area outside the neighborhood.
05:34Matthew was nowhere to be found.
05:41Reel it in, bubba!
05:43Oh my God!
05:44What'd you get?
05:46Oh my goodness!
05:48Oh my God!
05:50Look at that!
05:51Hold him and you can take a picture.
05:52You wanna hold him?
05:53No, I don't wanna hold him.
05:54Grab him right here.
05:55This was filmed in July of 2015.
05:57In the video, Matthew Terry is teaching Michelle's young son how to fish.
06:02Knowing what I knew about Matt Terry at that point,
06:05I thought, well, there could be worse things.
06:08He's, he seems like a good guy.
06:10What manipulators and abusers do well is
06:13they show you all these amazing good times
06:16and then they show you the nightmares.
06:18Not long after, the couple had a son and moved in together.
06:22But during the two years she spent alongside Matthew,
06:25Michelle couldn't help but notice that something was wrong with him.
06:28I noticed a different side to Matt only a few months into the relationship.
06:33There were a few times where he drank quite a bit.
06:38And when he spoke, it was just all gibberish.
06:42There was no words in what he spoke.
06:44It was just, he was just belligerent and obliterated.
06:47On one occasion, Matthew threw a hot frying pan at Michelle
06:51while she held their newborn son.
06:53He then rushed outside the house, slamming the door behind him.
06:57He came in just a few minutes later and he
07:00wrapped his arm around me as I was still feeding the baby
07:03and he said, I would never hurt you or our child.
07:06Escaping from an abusive relationship is always challenging.
07:10And it seemed even harder now that Michelle and Matthew had a son together.
07:14I definitely wasn't happy in the relationship,
07:16but I had to at least try for my son.
07:19I just thought it would be better having a dad around.
07:21I just didn't know the danger I was in at the time.
07:25Following her arduous recovery and failed trial back in 2017,
07:29Michelle attempted to keep her attacker in jail for as long as possible.
07:32Even before she learned about Kay and Matthew's relationship,
07:35she had already teamed up with prosecutor Eilish Gallagher
07:38to make her voice heard by the authorities.
07:40We tried to fight it and wrote letters for more oversight,
07:44more conditions, even a longer period of parole.
07:48But the parole period was not changed.
07:50While Matthew was in prison, his parents started sending packages
07:53to Michelle on his behalf.
07:55He also asked some of his relatives to spy on her.
07:58I felt like Michelle had to constantly worry about her safety
08:03and I felt helpless to do more for her because the parole decision was made.
08:07I didn't know what to do. I just knew I had to keep my family safe.
08:10Despite all of their efforts, the parole board never answered any of their requests.
08:14And by December 1st, 2020, Matthew Thierry was released from prison.
08:19I was not happy with him walking free.
08:21He was definitely a danger to society.
08:23And I clearly communicated that to the parole board and anyone that would listen.
08:26But nobody would really listen.
08:28The board's oversight ended up having dire consequences.
08:32On May 28th, 2022, mere minutes after being found by the police,
08:37Kay Baker succumbed to her injuries.
08:39As officers started following the blood trail left beside her body,
08:43they brought in a K-9 unit to investigate.
08:46Whoa, whoa, whoa. Right here. A lot of blood right here.
08:49Make yourself known. Dog's gonna bite you.
08:52Sheriff's office, show me your hands.
08:54Show me your hands.
08:55Keep your hands where we can see them.
08:57You need to get bit by the dog.
09:04Matthew was immediately arrested
09:06and Michelle was amongst the first to learn about the event.
09:09Despite all her efforts, she couldn't save Kay.
09:13I don't know how you explain that feeling.
09:17It was like I was out of my body for a while.
09:22At Matthew's trial,
09:23prosecutor Justin Diaz presented the CCTV footage
09:26capturing the argument between Kay, Kelly, and Matthew.
09:30Once you kind of grasp the fact that this is her last moment
09:33and you're seeing it on video before they go home and she's killed,
09:37it's a little surreal.
09:38It seems like she didn't have any indication of what was about to happen.
09:41As the last person to interact with Kay before her death,
09:45her friend Kelly took the stand.
09:48Diaz was looking for a motive for Matthew's frustration,
09:51no matter how petty.
09:52Are you aware of any moment that is not on video that we've already seen
09:57where Kay Baker is dancing with another guy?
09:59No.
10:00That's it?
10:01That's it.
10:02Those five seconds?
10:03Correct.
10:04On the defense side,
10:05the attorneys tried to convince the jury
10:07of an entirely different version of the events.
10:09They were trying to say that it was some other person.
10:12It was some other person that came and attacked them both
10:14and they just both ran.
10:15The prosecutor knew Matthew's lies got him out of trouble
10:18no less than three times in the past.
10:20If he ever wanted to win this trial,
10:22he had to bring those cases back on the table.
10:25He started with Jessica Koch, Matthew's first victim.
10:28Can you just give a brief summary of what happened in that case?
10:31Yes.
10:32He broke into my house.
10:34I was assaulted.
10:35My girlfriend was also assaulted.
10:38When the police came, he pretended to be the victim.
10:41I watched the giggles and the laughs
10:44and the complete disrespect for a woman's life.
10:48He also introduced Michelle's case to the jury.
10:50The similarities were uncanny.
10:52Both times, Matthew was dressed the same way,
10:55used the same weapon, struck in the same place, and so on.
10:59She had two sons.
11:01I have two sons.
11:02It happened on a Friday.
11:03During a holiday weekend,
11:05I mean, she had stab wounds in her right shoulder.
11:08He just got better at what he knows how to do.
11:10In the first trial, he claimed self-defense,
11:13and the few bruises he got during his struggle against Michelle
11:16seemed sufficient to convince the jury of his claims.
11:19But this time, Matthew's defense was more elaborate.
11:22He stabbed himself on either side of his throat,
11:25trying to really play the part of having somebody else attack him,
11:29and so he wouldn't be found guilty in killing Kay.
11:33Among the many people on the stand that day,
11:36Kay's stepmother couldn't help but ask Matthew directly why he killed her.
11:40What words did Kay say that night to justify you killing her?
11:45How bad could those words be?
11:48Did she say, Michelle was right?
11:52Was that what got her a death sentence?
11:54I feared for Kay's life.
11:57I hope you fear for your life.
12:01After an expert proved that no one could have inflicted Matthew's stab wounds but himself,
12:05his defense crumbled, but the team of prestigious lawyers he hired planned in consequence.
12:10In the middle of the trial, they shifted gears and started claiming self-defense
12:14to reduce his penalty as much as possible,
12:16just like they did in Michelle's case five years ago.
12:18He was saying it was self-defense.
12:20All of his friends and family, he had convinced that it was self-defense.
12:24At this point, Prosecutor Diaz had enough.
12:27He needed a strong witness to finally sway that idea away from the jury's mind.
12:31This was when his cabinet decided to contact Michelle directly.
12:35Look, this is what's going on in Florida.
12:37We need to get all over this.
12:38And they immediately got in contact.
12:40We got them all the videos, the documentation, everything they needed.
12:43And there was never a point where I'm like, I shouldn't do this.
12:46No, this is getting put away this time.
12:49She may have failed to prevent the last attack and save Kay,
12:52but she was still determined to stop Matthew.
12:54There was no question in my mind.
12:56It was what I had to do for me, for justice finally, for the safety of me and my kids.
13:00It's what I had to do for Kay Baker and her family and justice for them.
13:04To me, there was no other option.
13:05It was just, that's what I'm doing.
13:07Michelle was brought to the stand, sworn in,
13:09and asked to point out every scar she received from Matthew's assault.
13:13So on my left cheek, I have two circular bite mark scars.
13:17There's a small stab wound scar here, another stab wound scar here,
13:21and then another scar underneath my eyebrow.
13:25So on my right shoulder, I have the three stab wound scars.
13:28I have bite mark scars on my arm here.
13:31The following day, Michelle was asked to reiterate her testimony from the first trial.
13:37At that time, he was very clearly drunk,
13:40and I remember him coming around the counter and coming at me.
13:44I kind of backed off and embraced myself,
13:46and I actually verbally said, you know, what are you doing?
13:49And at that point, then we both fell to the floor.
13:52When I yelled at him, I said, you know, I love you.
13:54Why are you doing this?
13:55And he said, no, you don't.
13:59I'm going to kill you.
14:00So tell us what happens next in the fight.
14:03He just continues to, for lack of a better phrase, beat the shit out of me.
14:08And I keep trying to escape, and he continues to punch me in the face.
14:13And at that point, there was blood everywhere.
14:17Where is the blood coming from?
14:19I believe my nose. At that time, he had broken my nose.
14:23And at this point, he was taking both of his hands, and he was taking my head,
14:26and he was slamming it into the floor.
14:30So every time he would do that, my vision would go black.
14:33And then he comes around behind me, and he wraps his arm around my neck,
14:37and he stabs me in the throat with a knife.
14:39At that moment, are you armed?
14:41No.
14:42Are you even standing up to put up a fight?
14:45No.
14:46So at that point, again, it was just kind of the thought, like,
14:49I need to get the hell out of this house or I'm going to die in here.
14:52So I remember standing up, and as I stood up, he continued to try and stop me
14:57and try and punch me.
14:59I was able to get loose to get the garage door open and run to the garage.
15:03And as you step into the garage through the door, is there a garage opener?
15:07Yes.
15:08So I pushed the opener with my left hand as I was running out,
15:12and I ran towards it, but it was very slow.
15:15So I couldn't quite get under it right away before he was able to get to me again.
15:21As Matthew slammed her on the ground and continued to hit her,
15:24Michelle waited until the garage door was open enough to push him back
15:27and force the two of them to roll under it.
15:29As they tumbled across the driveway, Michelle did the only thing she could to save herself.
15:34She started screaming as loudly as she could.
15:40I was under him, and he was on top of me.
15:43He had used both of his hands to take my head and slam it into the cement multiple times.
15:52Sorry.
15:54I could very faintly hear voices across the street.
15:57He had stabbed me three times in the shoulder, and he went to bring the knife down again,
16:00and I had reached up, and I grabbed with my right hand the blade end of the knife in midair,
16:06and I took the knife, and I pulled it.
16:09Again, I'm on my back, and I pulled it across my face,
16:12and I just remember thinking he was going to, like, stab my eye out or something as I'm doing this.
16:15Throughout all of this, were you screaming and yelling for help, asking him to stop, putting up resistance?
16:20Yeah, so we didn't live that far from the hospital and stuff,
16:24and as the neighbors were, you know, I later found out they were on the phone with 911 at the time.
16:29We could hear sirens coming.
16:31You could hear them coming from around the corner.
16:34When we both heard the sirens, that's when he got up off of me and ran back in the house.
16:39What did you do?
16:40I ran across the street to the voices of the neighbors who were telling me to come over there, you know, come here,
16:45and then I proceeded to go across the street, and I collapsed on my back in their front yard.
16:50Michelle suffered a severe concussion, a broken nose, and seven stab wounds.
16:55Her one-year-old baby was still in the house as this happened.
16:59Baby inside?
17:01No!
17:02Check for the baby!
17:03Where?
17:04Where's the baby at?
17:06Check for the baby!
17:07I'm with you. I'm with you.
17:09Clear.
17:10Hi, cutie.
17:11Hi, buddy.
17:13It's okay.
17:17The reaction in the audience was palpable.
17:19Who knows what could have happened to Michelle's son if the police hadn't arrived in time?
17:24And her testimony had a similar effect.
17:26Her harrowing story of survival shocked the entire jury.
17:30Michelle was relieved that, finally, someone believed her.
17:33This time people believed me.
17:36Before addressing the jury one last time,
17:38Dee has invited a few of Kay's friends and family members to the stand.
17:42Her sister, Kari Rebels, tried her best to express how her absence affected her and her family.
17:48Today, I stand by my sister.
17:51There are no words to describe the void that her absence brings.
17:54I miss my sister.
17:58Her friend Kelly took the stand again,
18:01this time to talk about the young boys Kay left behind.
18:04Her boys meant everything to her.
18:06Kay loved watching Nicholas and Mason grow.
18:09They would crawl up into her lap for snuggles and look into each other's eyes.
18:14Now they can't do that.
18:16Mason and Nicholas will have to hold on to those memories and hope that they will never fade.
18:21They will have to go on with their lives without their mother.
18:25This will forever be a hole in all our hearts that will never be filled.
18:29I will never be able to speak to her or hear her voice again.
18:33This devastation is unbearable.
18:36The unfairness of her death is unreal.
18:39We all loved her so much.
18:43I listened to the testimony of Ms. Rogers
18:47and I believe that you should have been in prison in Michigan
18:54and that Ms. Baker should still be alive.
18:58This is Florida.
19:00You're going to prison for the rest of your life.
19:04The verdict in his trial gives you a lot of feelings,
19:08especially since someone had to die for the truth to be known.
19:12And that's heartbreaking.
19:15During the early phases of the trial,
19:17it was still unsure if the prosecution would aim for the death penalty or a life sentence.
19:21But in the end, those closest to Kay were confident that life without parole
19:25was the best outcome for everyone involved.
19:28Let him live in prison knowing what he did to Kay,
19:32to her family, to her sons.
19:34Let him sit there and just simmer in that
19:38every single day for the rest of his life
19:41because that's what he deserves.
19:45There's also that sense of relief that's like,
19:47finally, he's going to jail and he can't do this to anybody else.
19:50Looking back at what happened,
19:52Michelle realized that people needed to widen their definition
19:55of what domestic violence can entail.
19:57The key to take away, especially with my story,
20:00is that I've heard people say,
20:03well, he doesn't hit me. He's not abusive.
20:06And I think that it's just a huge error in our thinking
20:11because Matt Terry never hit me.
20:13Not once did he hit me.
20:15He manipulated me. He controlled me. He fucked with my head.
20:18Not once did he hit me until he nearly took my life.
20:21I mean, all it takes is once.
20:23And I promise that they're just going to get worse.
20:25They're not going to get better.
20:27So you're in danger whether they hit you or not.
20:29And if it's abusive, it's abusive, and you need to get the hell out.
20:32Today, Michelle is still fighting for the rights of domestic violence survivors
20:37and is also raising money for EVE,
20:39an organization providing shelter and counseling to women in Michigan.
20:43Since trial, I'm just working on healing.
20:45I'm working on building a happy life for myself and my kids.
20:48I've been doing things to help spread the awareness
20:51about domestic violence and the epidemic that it is.
20:54She believes she can inspire others to find their voice
20:57and stand up for their own safety by sharing her story.
21:00Her ultimate hope is that the broader public will pay attention
21:03to the survivor's perspective, recognizing the importance of these voices
21:07and taking meaningful action to prevent similar events in the future.
21:11I just want people to listen.
21:13I am not the first person that has been through a situation like this,
21:16and I definitely won't be the last.
21:18I'm dedicating my second chance at life to be able to share my story
21:23and to save lives, because that's all I want.
21:26That's all I want, and that's all I've ever wanted.
21:29And I couldn't save Kay's, but I will save whoever else I can
21:33and whoever else will listen.
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