People v. Payne CA3

BACKGROUND

Defendant was married to the victim, Jamie Baker, and the couple had three children: Brian, Jr., Markus, and Aiden. But the relationship between defendant and his wife began to deteriorate beginning in August 2006. Defendant suspected Jamie was having an affair. He heard a message from a man on Jamie’s cell phone, and defendant claimed Jamie showed him responses she received from other men on a dating website she had visited, causing defendant to become angry and jealous. Defendant accused Jamie of cheating on him and kicked her in the back when she refused to have sex with him on one occasion in December 2006. Defendant told his coworker he would kill Jamie if she ever left him. He said he put a gun on Jamie to scare her. Jamie’s friend, Hillary Hays, overheard defendant threaten to kill Jamie during a cell phone conversation in November 2006. Defendant said he did not want Jamie to be with anyone else. Defendant read subsequent texts on Jamie’s cell phone and learned that three men had contacted her. One text sent from Jamie’s cell phone read, “I can’t wait to rub on your rock-hard chest again.” The texts on Jamie’s cell phone confirmed defendant’s suspicion that…