Katie Baunach murder: Prosecutors seek death penalty for ex-husband Ian Baunach
Prosecutors intend to seek the death penalty for Ian Baunach, the Hendry County bodybuilder accused of luring his ex-wife to his home and murdering her in the days following Hurricane Ian.
State Attorney Amira Fox made the announcement in a court filing, writing that the killing of Katie Baunach was "committed in a cold, calculated and premeditated manner without any pretense of moral or legal justification."
Ian Baunach, 43, is accused of murdering the 39-year-old nurse and the mother of their two young children sometime on Sept. 29 or Sept. 30. Prosecutors allege Ian told Katie to come to the remote home they had previously shared in Fort Denaud to pick up her possessions, then killed her and tried to destroy evidence of the crime.
Ian has pleaded not guilty, and his attorney Robert P. Harris said he was disappointed that the state is seeking his client's execution.
"Mr. Ian Baunach is a former United States Marine, a war hero who sacrificed his body and his peace of mind for his country. It is disheartening that the government he fought to protect and preserve is going after him with the ultimate punishment," Harris wrote in a statement. "We maintain Ian Baunach's innocence and will vigorously defend him in a court of law."
Katie's mother, Carolyn McKinney, told USA TODAY Network-Florida that prosecutors had asked her what punishment she wanted. Her faith compelled her to say life in prison with no possibility of parole, she wrote in a text message.
"As a Christian, I can't say I want someone to die. But, the State Attorney said it's the only way to make sure he at least gets life," McKinney wrote. "They also said that can be changed or negotiated down the road."
The State Attorney's Office did not respond to a request for comment prior to publication.
Baunach is currently being held in federal custody as he awaits trial on federal firearms charges for allegedly possessing unregistered silencers. Investigators allegedly found the silencers in Ian's home when they searched it after Katie's disappearance.
A preventable death
In January, USA TODAY Network-Florida published an investigation into how multiple law enforcement agencies missed chances to protect Katie in the months before her death.
In November 2021, Ian allegedly grabbed Katie during a fight and tried to strangle her. She called police. Fox's office charged Ian with a felony. But Katie forgave him after he told her he had found God – and prosecutors dropped the charges, despite the case’s lead prosecutor writing in case notes that she would have continued without victim testimony in “90 percent” of similar cases.
Ian Baunach: Katie Baunach's ex-husband killed her, prosecutors say. The justice system let it happen
In March 2022, Ian allegedly kicked Katie in the back and threatened to kill her. Katie reported the alleged attack to the Hendry County Sheriff’s Office. But prosecutors did not file charges, despite deputies writing in their reports that they had sent the case to Fox’s office and were requesting an arrest warrant.
USA TODAY Network-Florida asked the State Attorney’s Office in January about its handling of the March incident and why Katie’s new allegation did not prompt them to reopen the strangulation case. But the agency would not answer questions about any of the previous allegations against Ian, citing the ongoing murder prosecution.
And six weeks before her death, a Lee County judge denied Katie's request for a restraining order and told her to make peace with Ian, citing concern for the couple's children.
“I know probably neither one of your stories is probably 100 percent true. Because it can’t be,” Judge Amy Hawthorne said in a recording of the hearing obtained through a records request. “You need to get over your anger at each other or whatever bad feelings you have toward each other, or suppress them, or do therapy or do something, because what you’re doing to your kids is just an abomination.
“Judges can only make the best decision possible based on the law and the limited amount of information that may be before them at that particular moment in time,” 20th Judicial Circuit spokesperson Sara Miles wrote in a statement in January. “Without a doubt, the death of Katie Baunach is a true tragedy and a terrible loss for her family and friends.”
This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Florida prosecutors to seek death penalty for bodybuilder Ian Baunach
