LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Ronald Baker was a young student at UCLA who became the victim of a brutal murder committed by his own roommates.
There were multiple complications involved in his case, including a whole cult-like narrative as to why he was killed.
However, it is important to note that the 21-year-old himself was not so far removed from what could only be called 'Satanic practices'.
His body was found mangled in a location that was known for these kinds of killings and it only made the case even more complex.
NBC's true crime show 'Dateline' will be rerun the episode 'Night of the Summer Solstice' that covered the Baker murder case back in Season 29.
The episode delves into the investigation and will be re-aired on the channel on Friday, August 25, 2023, at 9 pm.
Ronald Baker's parents received ransom calls
The investigation into Ronald Baker's disappearance began when his parents received two ransom calls demanding $100,000 for their son.
The 21-year-old was majoring in astrophysics at UCLA at the time.
It was around this time when a group of hikers discovered Ronald's dead body in a train tunnel at Chatsworth Park.
Interestingly, it was discovered that the ransom calls were made once before the body's discovery and once after.
It was after the second call that the Bakers called the police and the dead body's identity was linked to the ransom calls soon after.
How was Ronald Baker killed?
Ronald's dead body was completely mutilated when it was found in the tunnel.
He had been stabbed in multiple areas, including many times around his neck which almost separated his head from his body.
The location where the body was found not was not random either. The tunnel was known for being famously used by people involved in Satanic rituals and animal sacrifices.
This was why it was given the name "Manson Tunnel" — referring to the famous cult leader Charles Manson whose cult gave rise to the 'Satanic Panic' in America.
Ronald's involvement in a group called Mystic Circle at his university only further associated the case with the horrifying ritual of actual human sacrifice.
According to the lead provided by his roommates Duncan Martinez and Nathaniel Blalock, he was last seen getting on a bus to meet with his group.
Roommates behind Ronald Baker's killing
After much investigation and a polygraph test, Ronald's roommates came under suspicion.
One of them, Duncan, even attempted to change his identity and was later discovered due to his passport fraud.
He went on to confess to the crimes and brought the other roommate Nathaniel into the case too, according to the Los Angeles Times.
They were apparently fooling around with Ronald when a joke angered the two of them and made them attack him using a knife.
The police however suspected that the crime was pre-mediated as the two men were interested in a crime show and seemed to have attempted to mimic the crime to get ransom money from the Bakers.
They were both convicted a first-degree murder charge with a life sentence.
