07x17 - Chief Evidence

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NARRATOR: When a beautiful
young woman in Ohio

met a handsome young doctor,
it was love at first sight.

During candlelight
dinners, the two

spoke of marriage,
with the ceremony

on a distant beach at sunset.

But those plans
were delayed when

the prospective bride fell ill.

When medical science couldn't
find the cause of the problem,

forensic science and
a hidden camera did.

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At 33 years old, Michelle
Baker was ready to settle down

get married and start a family.

Her dreams were soon realized
when a girlfriend introduced

her to a soft spoken
new doctor in town,

Dr. Maynard Muntzing II.

I was the happiest woman
in the world at that point.

I mean, he was
every woman's dream.

He was very successful,
very good looking.

NARRATOR: Michelle worked as
a firefighter and a paramedic,

and the two shared an interest
in emergency medicine.

Muntzing was also 33 years old.

Both were divorced, and there
was an immediate attraction.

Within a month,
Dr. Muntzing moved

into Michelle's small home
in Huber Heights, Ohio.

The couple spent weekends caring
for Maynard's two children

from a previous marriage.

And soon, Michelle had
some happy news of her own.

She was going to have a baby.

MICHELLE BAKER
[VOICEOVER]: He said,

we're getting
married in Key West,

barefoot on the beach at sunset.

I was blown away.

NARRATOR: So the two
flew off to Florida.

But on their first night there,
Maynard changed his mind,

asking Michelle if they
could postpone the wedding

so his family could attend.

MICHELLE BAKER [VOICEOVER]:
I felt devastated.

I also felt like
if that is the way

that he wanted
things to be, that I

had to respect his wishes.

NARRATOR: Later that
night, the couple

went to the Hard Rock Cafe.

But after they left
the restaurant,

Michelle had severe cramps
and some light bleeding.

Fortunately, with a
fiance who was a doctor,

Maynard reassured her.

He told her there was
nothing to worry about.

MICHELLE BAKER [VOICEOVER]:
He just had me lay down.

He said that it was fine.

The next day, it stopped.

NARRATOR: After returning
home from vacation,

Michelle saw her physician,
Dr. John Shie, just

to make sure everything was OK.

JOHN M. SHIE, MD
[VOICEOVER]: I'm

trying to allay her
concern, because I

don't think it's a big issue.

Michelle, I think, was primarily
concerned because of her age.

And this being her first
pregnancy, she was frightened.

Her concerns were that she had
a history of endometriosis,

and she thought that
might be a problem.

But I reassured her that the
chance of a problem was remote.

NARRATOR: Maynard
purchased this $320,000

brick house for the couple
to raise their new child.

MICHELLE BAKER [VOICEOVER]: It
was all very much a whirlwind,

as far as everything went.

The baby, the
romance, the just--

the unbelievable situation,
all the way around.

NARRATOR: But
Michelle's pregnancy

was a difficult one,
with increasing cramps

and occasionally, bleeding.

When neither in Michelle's
doctor or her fiance

could determine the
cause of her illness,

she did a little research of
her own and made her diagnosis.

It was a condition so
rare, medical experts

could hardly believe it.

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Although Michelle Baker
and Dr. Maynard Muntzing

were expecting a child
and had plans to marry,

Maynard revealed some news
which threatened those plans.

He admitted he still
had lingering feelings

for a former
girlfriend, Tammy Irwin,

despite their stormy past.

MICHELLE BAKER [VOICEOVER]:
You have told all these people

such horrible things about her,
and what kind of person she is.

And I said, and you still
have feelings for her?

NARRATOR: Over the 4th
of July weekend in 2000,

Michelle planned to
stay home while Maynard

left for a fishing trip with
a friend about an hour's drive

away.

MICHELLE BAKER [VOICEOVER]:
We spent the morning together,

had a good morning, a
really good morning.

And he packed some
clothes and he left.

RADIO DJ: And with
"Prisoner of Love,"

here on all request hour, Q92.

Let's go to the request
lines, from Huber Heights.

Hello, what can I play for you?

MAYNARD MUNTZING [ON
RADIO]: Yeah, I was

wondering if you could play--

NARRATOR: But later that
night, while listening

to a local radio
station, Michelle

heard a familiar voice
calling in to request a song.

MICHELLE BAKER
[VOICEOVER]: The caller

sounded very much like Maynard.

And I was-- I just
stopped right there.

I just stopped dead in my
tracks, and I listened.

And the DJ asked him, he
said, well, who is this?

And he said, Maynard.

RADIO DJ: Do you want to
dedicate this to anyone?

MAYNARD MUNTZING [ON
RADIO]: I'd like to--

NARRATOR: Now suspecting
she had been lied to,

Michelle asked a
neighbor to drive

her to the home of Maynard's
former girlfriend, Tammy Irwin.

And see, there they are.

NARRATOR: Michelle's
fears were confirmed when

she saw him outside with Tammy.

Fishing trip, huh?

It's not what it looks like.

It's exactly what
it looks like.

NARRATOR: A
confrontation ensued.

MICHELLE BAKER [VOICEOVER]:
She never knew that Maynard

was living with me.

He had told her that he was
living with a friend of his.

And all the while,
he was with me.

NARRATOR: Michelle immediately
threw Maynard out of her home.

MICHELLE BAKER [VOICEOVER]:
I was devastated.

I just couldn't believe that
someone could be that deceiving

and appear to be something
that they're obviously not.

NARRATOR: But a few
days later, Maynard

called inviting Michelle to a
picnic so the two could talk.

He apologized for
his lapse in judgment

and asked Michele if they
could get back together.

MICHELLE BAKER
[VOICEOVER]: He turned to

and he said that he was very
sorry about all of this.

Seemed very sincere
in what he was saying.

NARRATOR: But the
picnic was interrupted

when Michelle got very sick.

MICHELLE BAKER [VOICEOVER]: I
was so ill there at the park

that I couldn't even leave.

I would leave the restroom
and then five minutes later,

have to be right
back in the restroom.

Not only was I vomiting
and bad diarrhea,

but I also about 40
minutes into this

started bleeding, and
bleeding pretty bad.

NARRATOR: Michelle immediately
went to her doctor.

He could find nothing
seriously wrong.

An ultrasound of the
fetus was normal,

and once again, Michelle
assumed her symptoms

were stress related.

With their relationship
back on track,

the couple once again
spoke of marriage.

MICHELLE BAKER [VOICEOVER]:
He was affectionate

and he rubbed my back,
watched TV with me

and it seemed very normal.

NARRATOR: But it happened again.

Michelle started cramping,
bleeding, and vomiting.

JOHN M. SHIE, MD
[VOICEOVER]: I thought

that this was due to anxiety
and stress, and probably

just internal pressure
that developed

when she saw her boyfriend.

NARRATOR: But it was Michelle's
twin sister Melinda who noticed

an interesting coincidence.

She had said that,
don't you find it odd

that every time you're with him,
after he leaves, you're sick?

And I was just horrified
by what she was implying.

NARRATOR: Michelle recalled that
Maynard was the one who brought

the drinks from the bar
to their table in Florida,

shortly before she fell
ill the first time.

And he also prepared
her drink at the picnic

before the second
bleeding incident.

But what was he
doing to her drinks?

To find out, she
set a trap and was

clever enough to videotape it.

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Michelle Baker was becoming
increasingly suspicious

of her fiance's behavior.

Maynard told Michele he was
taking his children to Florida

for a short vacation.

Michelle suspected he was lying.

To find out, Michelle
drove to the home

of Maynard's ex-girlfriend
and there saw Maynard's car.

Through an open window,
Michelle overheard

Maynard and Tammy
Irwin discussing

Michelle's pregnancy.

MICHELLE BAKER [VOICEOVER]:
Tammy asked Maynard what he

intended to do about the baby.

And Maynard's
response to her was,

she need not worry
about that, that as

far as he knew, that it
could have already been taken

care of.

My heart dropped.

And it was at that point that
I realized that something

might be going on.

NARRATOR: Michelle immediately
told police about her suspicion

that Maynard was trying
to abort their child.

DET.

JEFFREY F. COLVIN
[VOICEOVER]: Well,

after listening to the story, I
thought it was quite fantastic.

It's not the typical case
that comes across my desk.

I was certainly skeptical
at first, and thought,

I can't imagine that
someone would even do this.

It's beyond my dreams.

Something I haven't run into
in 25 years of experience.

Is he still trying
to like contact--

NARRATOR: Police wanted Michelle
to take a lie detector test,

but department rules
prohibit the test

to be done on pregnant women.

DET.

SGT. RICHARD MAY
[VOICEOVER]: We told her,

basically that because of
his professional position

that we were going to need
all types of physical evidence

that would show that he's
responsible for this.

NARRATOR: But
without proof, there

was little police could do.

So Michelle conducted
her own investigation.

Inside a silk plant,
Michelle and her girlfriend

hid a small video
camera in her kitchen

with a clear view of the
kitchen countertop area.

MICHELLE BAKER
[VOICEOVER]: I was scared.

I was afraid that
he would see it.

NARRATOR: She then
invited Maynard to dinner.

As soon as he arrived, Michelle
said she was going outside

to put the steaks on
the grill and asked

Maynard to prepare her a drink.

The videotape clearly
revealed Maynard

pouring an unknown substance
into Michelle's soft drink.

When he handed
Michelle the drink,

she excused herself to go
to the bathroom, where she

had hidden a plastic container.

MICHELLE BAKER [VOICEOVER]:
As I poured that drink

into that container, there was
a white sludge in the bottom

of my cup, an enormous amount.

I mean, not just a little
bit, but a very large amount.

And then I rinsed my cup out.

I poured my new Coke into that
glass, hid the other stuff.

I walked back out and
sat down at the table

and ate dinner with him.

I was sickened, but I knew
that this was the only way

that I could prove this.

This was the only
way that I could

keep him away from my baby.

NARRATOR: Getting through
dinner was difficult.

Michelle wanted to get the
drink to the police station

quickly, and throughout dinner,
her telephone rang incessantly.

It was Tammy Irwin, asking
to speak with Maynard.

When Maynard finally left,
the telephone rang once more.

It was Maynard, with
some upsetting news.

MICHELLE BAKER [VOICEOVER]: He
said to me, do you want to know

why Tammy's is so upset?

And I said, yeah, why don't you
tell me why Tammy's so upset.

He said, because she's my wife.

He married her that week.

NARRATOR: The police immediately
sent Michelle's soft drink

to the forensics lab.

MIKE WATHEN [VOICEOVER]:
My first reaction

is, you gotta be kidding me.

We have no idea what
we're looking for here.

It's not a typical
forensic case.

So where are we
going to even start?

There's literally hundreds
of dr*gs that this could be.

NARRATOR: On a hunch, police
called a local pharmacist

asking for a list of medications
that can cause harm to a fetus

if taken by a pregnant woman.

The most commonly
prescribed drug

fitting that description was
a stomach ulcer drug, cytotec.

The contents of
Michelle's soft drink

were placed in a
gas chromatograph

mass spectrometer.

The chromatograph separates
the various elements.

The mass spectrometer
analyzes them.

MIKE WATHEN [VOICEOVER]: By
comparing the known cytotec

that we received from the
pharmaceutical company,

we compared that
to the substance

that was found in the
Coca-Cola and found a match.

Therefore, the Coca-Cola
contained cytotec.

KIM MELNICK
[VOICEOVER]: It's also

a drug that is used in
a very limited capacity

to induce labor.

The actual effects of
that particular drug

are to actually
start contractions.

NARRATOR: But police
had a problem.

There was no proof it was
cytotec that Maynard was

putting into the soft drink.

A clever defense
attorney could claim

that Michelle laced her
own drink with the drug

in order to frame him.

So police set a
trap of their own.

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Even though Michelle Baker had
caught her fiance on videotape

placing something in
her drink, authorities

were concerned about
whether this evidence

would stand up in court.

DET.

JEFFREY F. COLVIN [VOICEOVER]:
We didn't believe just

having a tape by the complainant
and a sample by the complainant

would have as much validity
as a tape by ourselves

obtained by ourselves, and the
sample obtained by ourselves.

NARRATOR: So a few
days later, police

set up their own surveillance
camera in Michelle's kitchen.

They placed it in a figurine of
a firefighter saving a child.

The camera focused on
Michelle's kitchen counter.

Once again, Michelle invited
Maynard over for dinner.

DET.

JEFFREY F. COLVIN [VOICEOVER]:
Myself and Detective

Sergeant May were
waiting in the garage,

and viewing what was
going on in the kitchen.

Like clockwork, almost
identical to the previous tape,

once Michelle Baker exited
the residence to put steaks

on the grill, Dr. Muntzing
removed a vial from his pocket

and placed it in her drink.

Let's get him.

NARRATOR: The two detectives
rushed into the kitchen

and arrested him.

How are you doing?

We're police officers.

Put your hands up. [inaudible].

DET.

SGT. RICHARD MAY
[VOICEOVER]: At that time,

I pointed up to the
camera and said,

right up there,
you're on camera.

And that's when he viewed
the camera, to look at it.

I said, I told you that you
didn't have to have anything

to do with this baby,
and instead you tried

to k*ll the baby and k*ll me.

DET.

SGT. RICHARD MAY [VOICEOVER]:
I mean this guy, had it all.

In a matter of six minutes,
he destroyed his career,

and of course, Michelle's life.

NARRATOR: Dr.
Muntzing cryptically

explained why he had done it.

DET.

JEFFREY F. COLVIN
[VOICEOVER]: He'd

basically poisoned the
drink in an attempt

to remove the problem.

When questioned as to whether or
not the problem meant the baby,

he advised yes.

NARRATOR: Lab tests
confirmed that this drink

was spiked with cytotec, too.

A search of Muntzing's car trunk
revealed even more cytotec.

Dr. Maynard Muntzing was
charged with the attempted

m*rder of the baby.

JOHN M. SHIE, MD [VOICEOVER]:
I think that's just despicable.

I am ashamed to say
that he's a physician.

I think that he misused his
authority and his ability

to obtain a substance, and
then he poisoned his ex-fiance.

NARRATOR: Despite ingesting
cytotec several times earlier,

Michelle's fetus
appeared normal.

MICHELLE BAKER [VOICEOVER]:
I was the doctor's

office every week,
had high resolution

ultrasounds every month.

They were very, very cautious as
to what they were looking for.

NARRATOR: Meanwhile,
Muntzing was released

on bond to await trial.

NARRATOR: Shortly
before the trial,


pregnancy, Michelle

gave birth to a stillborn baby
girl, whom she named Mckayla.

MICHELLE BAKER [VOICEOVER]:
She was already gone.

It was a bad day.

And my parents got
there, and they were

there when she was delivered.

My whole family was
there, and my friends.

And they all held her,
and we passed her around.

And we all told her how
much that we loved her.

NARRATOR: Since the coroner
found no trace of cytotec

in the placenta, he ruled
the cause of the baby's

death as undetermined.

He did make oral statements
as well as written statements

admitting to what he was
trying to do in this case,

and that he was trying
to get rid of the baby,

that it was something
his wife didn't

want him to have to deal with.

NARRATOR: Michelle
firmly believes

that Maynard was responsible.

MICHELLE BAKER
[VOICEOVER]: And I

know in my heart
for what he did,

my justice is knowing
that he is eventually

going to be judged for that.

NARRATOR: Because of the strain
a trial would have placed

on Michelle and her family,
prosecutors made a deal

with Dr. Muntzing
and his wife, Tammy,

with Michelle's approval.

Muntzing's wife Tammy
pleaded guilty to the charge

of filling the prescription
for the cytotec.

She was put on probation.

Dr. Muntzing pleaded guilty
to contaminating a substance

for human consumption and
attempted felonious as*ault.

He was sentenced to
five years in prison.

He was also stripped
of his medical license,

and will never be permitted
to practice medicine

in the United States again.

MICHELLE BAKER [VOICEOVER]:
I have a lot of anger

and a lot of hurt, and
a lot of questions.

And it doesn't matter how
much counseling I go to.

They can't answer any
of those questions.

And it's difficult.

NARRATOR: Michelle
keeps Mckayla's ashes

in a beautiful acrylic
statue, surrounded by angels.

Fortunately, it was Michelle's
suspicions, good police work,

and new forensic technology that
identified the drug quickly.

MIKE WATHEN [VOICEOVER]: It
could have been a very, very

long procedure identifying
this drug, because we

literally had no
idea where to start

or what we were looking for.

It could have taken
us several months

to determine what we had.

NARRATOR: A delay
of several months

may have prevented police
from capturing the crime

a second time on videotape.

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