SHY AND ARTISTIC, BUT INTO 'THAT DEVIL STUFF'
Date: Saturday, June 5, 1993
Section: News
Page: A9
Illustration: photo
Source: By Laura Coleman The Commercial Appeal
Dateline:
Edition: Final
He has an iguana named Ozzy, a cat named Charlie and he's known for his manners, his shyness and his artistry.
Now, Charles Jason Baldwin, 16, is known as a suspected child murderer.
Near Marion, Matt Baldwin, 14, staunchly declared his brother's innocence Friday as he stood guard alone in the rusty trailer they share with a stepbrother, mother and stepfather.
Matt had been instructed not to let anyone in the trailer while his mother, Gail Grinnell, sought witnesses to help clear Jason's name. He opened the door slightly to talk to a reporter, and at first expressed no fear for what may happen.
"No, I'm not afraid," he said, "because I know he'll be home soon
because he didn't do it." Then the bravado ebbed at the mention of a possible death penalty. "I guess I'm kinda scared . . .," he said.
But in Sheridan, Ark., south of Little Rock, Baldwin's grandmother wasn't so sure of Jason Baldwin's innocence.
"I thought in my own mind when those boys were killed that my grandson is sorta superstitious about that devil stuff," said Jessie Mae Baldwin. "He was always catching lizards and snakes, I thought something was going on in that child's mind."
Baldwin, 76, said she and her husband, Purd Baldwin, 82, learned of their grandson's arrest from a television report Friday morning.
"We just looked at each other and I said, 'I don't know what that boy has on his mind, killing people like that,' " Mrs. Baldwin said. Jason Baldwin's father, Larry Baldwin, lives with his parents but was unavailable Friday.
"He's just heartbroke," said Mrs. Baldwin. "He's a mess."
Mrs. Baldwin said that, when she learned of the boys' deaths, she told people that whoever killed the children should be executed. Now that she knows her grandson could be convicted, she said her feelings haven't changed.
"Even though he's my grandson he should get the death penalty if he did it. Whoever done this should be caught and tortured like they done to those kids, and it don't matter if it's my husband, my boy or my grandson, whoever it might be."
The two Baldwin boys would visit their father in the summer and on school breaks, Matt said. They would visit state parks and go fishing.
Jason Baldwin was known not only for his good grades - friends say he was an A and B student at Marion High School - but also for his drawing ability. His brother closed the trailer door to get a few samples of Jason's artwork and returned with drawings of an eagle and an owl.
While his mother worked at a local trucking company, Jason Baldwin would warm a supper for Matt and his 9-year-old stepbrother, Terry Grinnell, make sure they did their homework and took their baths and get them to bed, said neighbors.
"He's nice and he likes animals," Matt Baldwin said of his brother, with whom he often plays Super Nintendo.
The two spent more time together lately than normal because their mother restricted their activities after the three boys' bodies were found.
"Mom wouldn't hardly let us go nowhere anymore," Matt said. "My brother was kinda mad about that."
On the day the boys are believed to have been murdered, Jason Baldwin was cutting the grass at his great-uncle's, Hubert Bartoush.
"He came over here about 4:30 that day and left about 6:30. He said he was going to Wal-Mart," Bartoush said. "I can't believe he was way over there (where the bodies were found.)" Bartoush said he lives about 1 1/2 miles
from the wooded area.
In West Memphis, Jason's friends were among the crowd that gathered behind the Municipal Courthouse to catch a glimpse of the three suspects. When Jason Baldwin's name was mentioned, heads shook in disbelief.
"He's real shy, real sweet," said Roni Hendrix, who shared algebra and English classes with Baldwin.
Date: Saturday, June 5, 1993
Section: News
Page: A9
Illustration: photo
Source: By Laura Coleman The Commercial Appeal
Dateline:
Edition: Final
He has an iguana named Ozzy, a cat named Charlie and he's known for his manners, his shyness and his artistry.
Now, Charles Jason Baldwin, 16, is known as a suspected child murderer.
Near Marion, Matt Baldwin, 14, staunchly declared his brother's innocence Friday as he stood guard alone in the rusty trailer they share with a stepbrother, mother and stepfather.
Matt had been instructed not to let anyone in the trailer while his mother, Gail Grinnell, sought witnesses to help clear Jason's name. He opened the door slightly to talk to a reporter, and at first expressed no fear for what may happen.
"No, I'm not afraid," he said, "because I know he'll be home soon
because he didn't do it." Then the bravado ebbed at the mention of a possible death penalty. "I guess I'm kinda scared . . .," he said.
But in Sheridan, Ark., south of Little Rock, Baldwin's grandmother wasn't so sure of Jason Baldwin's innocence.
"I thought in my own mind when those boys were killed that my grandson is sorta superstitious about that devil stuff," said Jessie Mae Baldwin. "He was always catching lizards and snakes, I thought something was going on in that child's mind."
Baldwin, 76, said she and her husband, Purd Baldwin, 82, learned of their grandson's arrest from a television report Friday morning.
"We just looked at each other and I said, 'I don't know what that boy has on his mind, killing people like that,' " Mrs. Baldwin said. Jason Baldwin's father, Larry Baldwin, lives with his parents but was unavailable Friday.
"He's just heartbroke," said Mrs. Baldwin. "He's a mess."
Mrs. Baldwin said that, when she learned of the boys' deaths, she told people that whoever killed the children should be executed. Now that she knows her grandson could be convicted, she said her feelings haven't changed.
"Even though he's my grandson he should get the death penalty if he did it. Whoever done this should be caught and tortured like they done to those kids, and it don't matter if it's my husband, my boy or my grandson, whoever it might be."
The two Baldwin boys would visit their father in the summer and on school breaks, Matt said. They would visit state parks and go fishing.
Jason Baldwin was known not only for his good grades - friends say he was an A and B student at Marion High School - but also for his drawing ability. His brother closed the trailer door to get a few samples of Jason's artwork and returned with drawings of an eagle and an owl.
While his mother worked at a local trucking company, Jason Baldwin would warm a supper for Matt and his 9-year-old stepbrother, Terry Grinnell, make sure they did their homework and took their baths and get them to bed, said neighbors.
"He's nice and he likes animals," Matt Baldwin said of his brother, with whom he often plays Super Nintendo.
The two spent more time together lately than normal because their mother restricted their activities after the three boys' bodies were found.
"Mom wouldn't hardly let us go nowhere anymore," Matt said. "My brother was kinda mad about that."
On the day the boys are believed to have been murdered, Jason Baldwin was cutting the grass at his great-uncle's, Hubert Bartoush.
"He came over here about 4:30 that day and left about 6:30. He said he was going to Wal-Mart," Bartoush said. "I can't believe he was way over there (where the bodies were found.)" Bartoush said he lives about 1 1/2 miles
from the wooded area.
In West Memphis, Jason's friends were among the crowd that gathered behind the Municipal Courthouse to catch a glimpse of the three suspects. When Jason Baldwin's name was mentioned, heads shook in disbelief.
"He's real shy, real sweet," said Roni Hendrix, who shared algebra and English classes with Baldwin.
