Al Baker

For those who have read this blog and know Ken Andersen’s story, you already know who Al Baker is. For those who don’t, let me introduce him. Al is an older man who lives in the same area where the crime was committed and was a friend to both Ken and Chad. He was helping Chad with the maple syrup operation and was supposed to meet him there the morning Chad was killed. He was supposed to be at the maple syrup stand at 8 am, but for some reason he showed up after 10 am, after Chad was found dead. There is never given a verifiable explanation what he was doing or why that morning. Listen to him talk to the police. He sounds very nervous and tries very hard to blame Ken Andersen (Fud) for the murder, but offers no motive or evidence. The police never treat him as a suspect and are eager to weave his nervous ramblings into a now fractured timeline and theory. I will comment after you listen.

I guess if I had to describe this interview with one word, STRANGE, come to mind. He starts right off saying he has no idea who may have killed Chad and in the same breath he accuses “Fud” Ken Andersen, based on nothing more that trying to please the police. Leslie has just called him thinking he was mad at them, or Jessie, and claims they know something suspicious. He says he has been receiving blocked calls and threats, even at the funeral. None of this seems to steer the cops away from their theory now that has Ken Andersen as a suspect. They seem to be listening to him but they are not prone to seek out where these stories were pointing. Al’s memory seems as fuzzy as Leslie and has trouble recalling the events of the murder of a close friend just a week prior. He tells of strange behavior of Leslie just hours after the murder and gives no real insight to any possibility that Ken Andersen killed Chad Swedberg. I talked to Al Baker on the phone a few years ago and he steered me to talk about the mysteries of maple syrup making more than what he said at Ken’s trial. Al told me a tale that he now believes a number of people were involved in the murder. I have unanswered questions about his interview.

1. Why didn’t you go to the maple stand at 8 am like you had planned?

2. Where were you from 730 am to 10 am, and can anyone verify it?

3. Are you lying about what you really know about Chad’s murder and why?

4. Do you have any first hand knowledge that Ken Andersen had anything to do with Chad’s murder?

5 Why are you so reluctant now to talk about any of this?