One year after killing, family of Katie Baunach still grieves and waits for justice
For the family of Katie Baunach, the pain of her killing one year ago has not faded.
And closure still seems a distant prospect, her mother Carolyn McKinney said in an interview – particularly for Katie's two young children, C.J. and Makayla.
“"It's still really hard," McKinney said. "They still cry."
Baunach, a 39-year-old nurse, was found dead at the Fort Denaud home of her ex-husband Ian Baunach on Sept. 30, 2022. Prosecutors charged Baunach with murder, and he remains in custody awaiting trial, which could be years away. Baunach's defense attorney is scheduled to depose witnesses in November, according to court filings.
“Back in June, [prosecutors] said it would be two or three years from now before he goes to trial,“ McKinney said. "I started feeling very insecure about him wiggling out of this. I need for them to tell me he’s going to pay for this.”
Read the investigation: Katie Baunach's ex-husband killed her, prosecutors say. The justice system let it happen
McKinney said she called the Office of 20th District State Attorney Amira Fox over the summer seeking to talk with the lead prosecutor on the case, but did not receive a call back. She said she understands prosecutors are busy and that they have been kind to her throughout the case, but that she is still anxious for reassurance.
“I would love them to tell me that he’s in there and he’s miserable and they know he’s not going to get out," McKinney said. "I need somebody to say that to me.”
The State Attorney's Office said it does not comment on its conversations with crime victims or their families.
Local law enforcement praised the Hendry Sheriff's Office's investigation and arrest weeks after the killing, saying quick action by deputies allowed them to apprehend Baunach before he destroyed evidence or fled.
But an investigation by The News-Press found that police, prosecutors and judges failed to protect Katie before her death, despite her repeatedly reporting Ian for domestic abuse.
In November 2021, Ian allegedly grabbed Katie during a fight and tried to strangle her. She called police. The office of 20th District State Attorney Amira Fox 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.
Less than three months later, 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. Less than two months before Katie's death a Lee County judge denied Katie's request for a restraining order, saying she did not believe Katie's abuse allegations.
Ian's two previous ex-wives, both Indiana residents, told The News-Press they reported Ian to their local police years earlier for domestic violence but felt authorities did not take their allegations seriously. Ian was never convicted of a crime.
In July, the family struggled with the decision of what to do with Katie's ashes, McKinney said. Katie had left Indiana years earlier. Mississippi, where McKinney lived, was not Katie's home. And McKinney said she never wanted to return to Florida again.
Instead, the family chartered a boat out of Gulf Shores, Alabama, had a service on the beach and scattered Katie's ashes in the Gulf of Mexico. Katie had never visited Gulf Shores, McKinney said, but it felt right. It felt like her.
"She loved the beach so much," McKinney said. "The beach was her home.”
This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: One year after killing, family of Katie Baunach grieves and waits for justice
