A 17-year-old Alabama boy accused of killing his mother and severely wounding his father had reportedly argued with his mom over her Facebook posts about him before the deadly attack, according to a neighbor.
Brandon Baker, 17, is accused of fatally stabbing his mother, Samantha Baker, 37, and seriously injuring his father, Lance Baker, 46, inside and outside the family’s home in Daphne, Alabama, on Sunday night.
A neighbor told the New York Post that earlier that evening, she heard Brandon and Samantha loudly arguing about comments his mother had made on Facebook. Samantha often posted about the challenges of raising teenage boys, including jokes and complaints about Brandon’s “attitude.”
In one birthday post for Brandon in September, Samantha wrote, “You are an amazing person and yet at the same time you make my blood boil.”
In January, she shared a meme that read, “Gentle parenting is for gentle children. My thugs will be handled accordingly.”
In another post, she wrote, “Raising a teenage boy… 0/10 DO. NOT. RECOMMEND!” along with crying emojis.
Next-door neighbor Shawn Scurry told the Post that before Samantha was killed, she heard Brandon yelling “about a comment” on his mother’s page, while Samantha responded that “it was just a story.” A Facebook story is a temporary post that usually disappears after 24 hours.
Scurry said the argument was loud enough to be heard around the neighborhood. She said she believed Samantha’s social media posts about her son may have been “starting to hurt him.”
“She does talk kind of rude about the kids,” Scurry told the outlet. “And, you know, they are teenagers.”
Samantha’s Facebook page also showed many happy family moments, including photos of her and Lance supporting their sons at high school football games and at church. But some posts hinted at tension inside the household.
One post read, “Welcome to the Baker house…we laugh then holler then act like nothing happened until it’s time to holler and laugh again. It’s a s— show over here. Enter at your own risk.”
In a post for National Sons Day last year, Samantha called Brandon a “sweet guy,” but also wrote that she did not like his “mouth and attitude.”
“He’s a calm presence until he isn’t,” she wrote. “He marches to the beat of his own drum.”
She also shared a meme last May that read, “Only parents with gentle children can gentle parent. The rest of us have to square up, and fight for our lives with the tiny bullies we made. And I do square up! I don’t have gentle kids! They are feral.”
Authorities have not said exactly which Facebook story allegedly sparked the argument on the night of the attack. Scurry said Samantha ultimately told Brandon to go do his chore, which was mowing the lawn.
“She got the final say and that was for him to go do his chore, which is to mow the lawn,” Scurry told the Post.
According to the neighbor, Brandon complied and went outside to mow. Scurry said that despite what allegedly happened later, it “didn’t seem like it was a problem for him to do it that day.”
The neighbor, who said she moved in about a year ago, added that the argument was the first one she had heard from the family.
Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office Capt. Justin Correa said that after the apparent complaint about Samantha’s Facebook posts, Brandon and his parents got into a separate argument over a disciplinary issue at home.
Correa said Brandon then grabbed a kitchen knife and chased his parents out of the house, allegedly stabbing both of them repeatedly.
Samantha was found with multiple stab wounds and later died. Lance, a U.S. Army Reserve Battalion Commander with the 1184th Deployment and Distribution Support Battalion in Mobile, suffered severe injuries and was airlifted to a hospital.
A Nest camera outside the home reportedly captured audio of the attack. Scurry said when she listened to the audio, she recognized “a scream from the mom.”
“Then the dad is arguing with the son — and when I say arguing, I mean like, ‘Why are you doing this?’” she recalled.
She said Lance could be heard pleading for his life.
“He’s basically saying, ‘I don’t want to die. Please stop. No,’” Scurry said. “And then he’s repeating, ‘Somebody help me, please, help me’ very loudly.”
Scurry said Lance tried to alert neighbors by going door-to-door, leaving bloody handprints on front doors as his son allegedly chased him.
Brandon eventually returned to the family’s home and called 911, police said. Authorities said he described the incident as a domestic matter.
The teenager, who was reportedly a standout high school football player, was taken into custody and is now facing a murder charge. He is being held on a $1 million bond and will be tried as an adult.
Police said Brandon’s 16-year-old brother was not home when the attack unfolded.
Correa said Wednesday that Lance was recovering in stable condition.
Samantha, who served in the Army National Guard and Reserve for six years, was working as a realtor at the time of her death. Lance has served in the U.S. Army Reserve for more than 26 years.
Stupidity unsurpassed.Why do people put things about their family in Facebook
Its hard to understand how two parents who have served in the military couldn’t overpower this POS kid? He was butthurt over Facebook posts? He can now play football in prison for the rest of his life, hope he is in agony for the rest of his life…