Mysticism Fascinated Slain Man : Crime: The introspective student may have gone to a park to meditate. His body was found there near a site of occult observances.

By all accounts, Ronald Steven Baker, a 21-year-old astrophysics major at UCLA, was a deeply serious young man who was searching for spiritual fulfillment.

Baker, who grew up in Woodland Hills, was involved with the Methodist Church and the student ministry on the UCLA campus. He also liked to go to the lawns of Chatsworth Park to meditate.

Earlier this year he joined a student group called the Mystic Circle and began studying Wicca, an occult religion that follows a benevolent philosophy of oneness with nature.

Now, Los Angeles police are investigating whether Baker’s exploration of the occult led to his murder.

Baker, who hoped for a career in the aerospace industry, was found dead June 22 at the mouth of a railroad tunnel in the rocky hills above Chatsworth Park. He had been stabbed several times and his throat was slashed, police said.

Detectives said Tuesday there are no suspects.

The killing took place on June 21, the night of the summer solstice, considered a holy day by followers of the occult. The railroad tunnel is known to police as a spot where occult activities have occurred; a pentagram and other occult symbols are painted on the tunnel walls.

Police do not know why or how Baker ended up there.

“We don’t know if it is an occult-related crime. We are looking at that very hard,” Detective Frank Garcia said Tuesday.

The detective said Baker “was exploring avenues of magic and meditation, metaphysical stuff. . . . We don’t know if at some point he graduated from the light to the dark side of that.”

Confusing the investigation, police said, is the fact that believers in Wicca are against any kind of bloodletting.

Additionally, Baker’s parents received two anonymous calls--one before and one after the body was found--in which a caller demanded $100,000 in ransom for the young man’s return. Police believe the calls were made by the killer to throw investigators off the track.

“There were ransom demands. . .,” Garcia said. “But they are not what we typically expect in a kidnap. There was no effort made to discuss the mechanics of a money drop or anything like that. My opinion is that it was a ruse by the murderer.”

Baker’s parents were out of town Tuesday and could not be reached.

The victim, who shared an apartment in Van Nuys with two other men, was described by friends as thoughtful and religious. They termed him quiet, shy and almost meek, keeping to himself.

“He was very, very spiritual,” said one student.

Tall and slender with curly blond hair, Baker looked like a student out of the 1960s--favoring tie-dyed T-shirts and blue jeans. Like some believers of Wicca, he sometimes wore a pendant with a five-pointed star surrounded by a circle as “a protection against evil,” said a friend who asked not to be identified.

“He always had strong roots and a healthy faith in the church,” said his pastor, Rev. Steven Isenman of the Woodland Hills United Methodist Church, where Baker’s mother is a secretary. “But he was also very curious about what other people believed. That would lead him to want to check things out.”

Earlier this year, Baker joined a student group called the Society of Bruins for Metaphysical Inquiry. Briefly known as the Mystic Circle, the society was founded in January by Roland Trevino, a history major. About 15 to 20 students attended the group’s on-campus lectures.

The society was more academic than religious, Trevino said. Members met to discuss the metaphysical world rather than to worship, he said, adding that many of the people who attended were followers of Wicca.

Baker had apparently been exploring Wicca before joining the group. But through members of the society he joined a Wicca class and attended his first session at a Pasadena apartment the night before he died.

Wicca means the “craft of the wise” or “witchcraft.” But the religion, which worships nature, should not be confused with Satanism or black magic, experts said.

Detective Patrick Metoyer, the LAPD’s expert on the occult, described Wicca as benevolent witchcraft.

“Wicca is basically witchcraft involving the worshipping of all natural things,” Metoyer said. “It is a belief that any and all living specimens have some sort of power base; a mystical presence.

“A real believer would not be involved in bloodletting. . . . It is a positive and natural magic.”

Gerald A. Larue, an emeritus professor of religion at USC, said the practice of Wicca dates back about 200 years but is based on ancient rituals and beliefs. He said adherents reject violence. “They are gentle people, at least the ones I know.”

One of the UCLA metaphysical society’s founders recalled a discussion that ensued after the group watched a movie called “The Wicker Man,” which depicted a ritualistic killing.

“We had a debate over whether it was right to sacrifice someone, and we decided it wasn’t, unless that person was willing,” she said. “Ron was just not into that. He was just into being nice and caring.”

Garcia said Baker was last seen alive early the evening of June 21, when friends dropped him off at a bus stop at Van Nuys and Victory boulevards near his Van Nuys apartment. The detective said Baker--who had no car and routinely rode buses--told friends he was going to a meeting, but did not say where.

“After that we don’t know what happened,” Garcia said.

The detective said he believes Baker may have gone to Chatsworth Park to meditate. Police were seeking witnesses who might have seen Baker at the park.

The woman who hosted the Wicca class the night before Baker died said he asked his classmates if they were going to celebrate the Summer Solstice. He was disappointed that they were postponing celebrations until the weekend, she recalled. But Baker was undeterred, she said, telling her:

“I want to do something on the solstice. I think I’ll just whip something up for myself.”

Times staff writers Jeff Ball and Stephanie Stassel contributed to this story.