Coroner: Friar Died from Heart Wound

The Tribune-Democrat
January 28, 2013

http://tribune-democrat.com/local/x964887148/Coroner-Friar-died-from-heart-wound


The Franciscan friar who was the subject of an alleged sex scandal at Bishop McCort Catholic High School died from a single knife wound to the chest, an autopsy showed.

Blair Coroner Patricia Ross said Brother Paul Stephen Baker used a knife long enough to puncture his heart, an injury authorities believe quickly killed him Saturday.

He suffered no other injuries, Ross said.

Baker, 62, was living at St. Bernardine Monastary, Hollidaysburg, when a resident found him fatally injured Saturday.

He has been under scrutiny for several weeks since news broke that Baker settled abuse lawsuits in Ohio with 11 former students who claimed he molested them.

Since then numerous Bishop McCort alumni have allegedly stepped forward, claiming they also were abused while Baker was a teacher and trainer at the school between 1992 and the early 2000s.

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