Lake County Criminal Court Judge Daniel Shanes refused to give new trial to a Deerfield man convicted Nov. 5 of bludgeoning the Vernon Hills mother of his girlfriend to death, according to an article in the Daily Herald.
Shanes discarded the defense of Daniel Baker of Deerfield that his fit of rage when he beat Marina Aksman to death with a baseball bat on April 10, 2010, was criminal insanity.
“Based upon the evidence in this case, the defense counsel in this case left no stone unturned,” Shanes said in a Lake County News Sun story. “The defense was full, vigorous and complete. There is nothing in the record to indicate this defense could have done differently.”
After Shanes denied a motion brought by Baker’s attorneys, Ed Genson and Blaire Dalton, asking for a new trial, Genson once again raised the issue of his client’s mental health, according to the News Sun. Shanes held Baker was mentally ill but not criminally insane. He faces 20 years to life in prison.
“He continues to be incompetent,” Genson said of Baker in the Daily Herald. Baker suffers from a number of mental disorders. He is being held in the Lake County Jail while he awaits sentencing.
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