John Baker spent nearly 28 years with Pembroke Pines police before authorities say his wife killed him and then herself.
PEMBROKE PINES, Fla. — John Baker spent nearly three decades as a Pembroke Pines police officer, helping train colleagues, investigating traffic deaths and assisting first responders through a crisis-response team he helped found. Seven years after an on-duty motorcycle crash left him with lasting disabilities, authorities say his life ended in an apparent murder-suicide at his home.
Broward Sheriff’s Office detectives said John Baker, 62, and his wife, Joanne Baker, 59, were found dead Sept. 21 after police and paramedics responded to a 911 call about two unresponsive people in the 8300 block of Pine Drive. The preliminary investigation indicates Joanne Baker shot and killed her husband and then killed herself, the Sheriff’s Office said. Investigators have not publicly announced a motive, and the medical examiner was assigned to make the official cause-and-manner determinations.
The Pembroke Pines Police Department’s response to Baker’s death focused first on the career that made him familiar inside the agency and around the city. Baker joined the department in 1994. Over nearly 28 years, he served as a road patrol officer, field training officer, master patrol officer, public information officer, traffic homicide investigator and Traffic Unit sergeant. The department said he was also a founding member of its Crisis Response Team, which was created to support first responders during tragedy. Traffic safety was a recurring part of Baker’s work. Police said he regularly worked with Mothers Against Drunk Driving and volunteered at the group’s events. He also served as a public information officer, a job that placed him in front of cameras and reporters when the department needed to explain police activity to the public. His later role supervising the Traffic Unit added another connection to road safety before a traffic crash changed the course of his own life.
On Aug. 10, 2019, Baker was riding a police motorcycle while on duty when he was seriously injured in a collision. A Pembroke Pines police release issued the next day said the crash occurred at about 7:05 a.m. on Sheridan Street and that Baker was in critical but stable condition at Memorial Regional Hospital. The agency later said a car turned in front of his path. His injuries affected his speech and movement and required a long recovery. At the time of the crash, the department said Baker had served more than 25 years, supervised the Traffic Unit and also worked as one of its public information officers. The Broward Sheriff’s Office handled the traffic-crash investigation, according to the 2019 release. The crash drew immediate support from fellow officers, relatives and the public. A GoFundMe organized by Christopher Komp on behalf of Joanne Baker described the injuries as severe and said they would affect Baker and his family for the rest of his life. The campaign later showed $38,019 raised from 484 donations toward a $50,000 goal. Early updates emphasized that Baker faced a long road and that there was no clear timetable for leaving intensive care. The fundraiser’s language also reflected how closely his identity was tied to police service, noting his decades in law enforcement and asking supporters to help a family accustomed to seeing Baker assist others.
Baker eventually regained limited motor skills, according to the Police Department, and continued appearing in community activities despite the effects of the crash. He participated in charity races associated with Special Compass, a nonprofit that assists children and families with disabilities, and in the Special Olympics Torch Run. The department said he remained active in supporting the community even after his police career had been altered by the injuries. Joanne Baker also became part of the public record of that recovery. Law&Crime reported that she posted updates about her husband’s progress, activities and plans on the fundraiser. The outlet said a February 2025 update referred to a family cruise, concerts and spring football. Those entries documented efforts to resume family life after the crash, but they do not establish what the couple’s relationship was like in the period immediately before their deaths.
The Police Department’s memorial statement described Baker as a father of three who enjoyed traveling and music and often attended concerts with his family. Pembroke Pines Mayor Angelo Castillo told local news outlets that Baker mentored younger officers and was difficult to forget. Castillo said he had known Baker for more than 20 years and had spoken with him shortly before the deaths. The mayor’s comments added to a public portrait centered on Baker’s service and personality.
That portrait is separate from the homicide evidence. According to the Broward Sheriff’s Office, local officers and fire-rescue paramedics arrived at the Pine Drive home at about 7:12 a.m. after the 911 call. They found both Bakers dead. Pembroke Pines police then requested that the Sheriff’s Office Homicide and Crime Scene units take over the death investigation, creating a measure of separation because John Baker was a retired member of the city police department.
The Sheriff’s Office public summary identified John Baker as the victim and Joanne Baker as the suspect and described its conclusion as preliminary. Officials did not publicly say who called 911, when each person was last known to be alive, whether investigators recovered a note, or whether there had been prior calls to the home related to domestic trouble. Authorities also did not release any account of an argument or other event immediately before the shootings.
Law&Crime, citing McClatchy News, reported that the Bakers had celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary about a month before their deaths. That detail places the case at the end of a long marriage but does not explain the violence. Investigators have not said the anniversary, the demands of caregiving after Baker’s crash, his disability, family finances or any other personal factor caused or contributed to the shootings. The available public evidence does not support assigning such a motive. Treating the recovery history as an explanation would go beyond what detectives, the medical examiner or the couple’s documented public statements have established.
A neighbor interviewed by NBC 6 said the couple had appeared happy from what she could observe across the street but acknowledged that outsiders cannot know everything happening inside another household. That kind of neighborhood impression cannot answer the questions left by investigators. It can only show the contrast between the Bakers’ visible public life and the private circumstances that authorities have not described. The Police Department said Baker’s positive personality persisted through the challenges of his injuries and offered condolences to his children, relatives and friends. Its statement did not speculate about Joanne Baker’s actions. The Broward Sheriff’s Office likewise limited its release to the preliminary sequence of the deaths and the continuing investigation, leaving the motive and final medical conclusions unresolved.
For the Pembroke Pines Police Department, Baker’s death closes a public career remembered through traffic enforcement, officer training, crisis response and community events. The criminal investigation, however, is being handled separately by the Broward Sheriff’s Office, which continues to characterize the deaths through a preliminary murder-suicide finding. No publicly released evidence has established what prompted the shootings, leaving Baker’s professional legacy clearer than the circumstances of his final hours.
Author note: Last updated November 8, 2026.