Va man pleads guilty to killing neighbor in 1998

Associated Press - July 29, 2010 1:35 PM ET

AUGUSTA, Va. (AP) - A man has pleaded guilty to the 1998 slaying of a Churchville woman whose body was found in a septic tank near her home.

Kenneth W. Baker pleaded guilty Thursday in Augusta County Circuit Court to second-degree murder and a firearms charge.

Prosecutors said the 43-year-old Baker fatally shot 48-year-old Ruth Naomi Mays, who was his neighbor at the time. The victim's body was found on June 12, 1998.

Evaluations from 1999 to 2003 found Baker incompetent to stand trial. He remained committed at Western State Hospital for several years and then moved to a convalescent home.

He later was found competent to stand trial.

Baker also pleaded guilty Thursday in an unrelated case to fondling a 97-year-old woman at the convalescent home.

Information from: The News-Virginian, http://www.newsvirginian.com